


Against All Odds

by The_Intuitive_Special



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Mystery, Suspense, papdyne, undyrus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-07-29 16:56:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 34,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7692340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Intuitive_Special/pseuds/The_Intuitive_Special
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Undyne and Papyrus have always been an unshakable duo. Nothing can get between them... or so they thought. But all the best relationships have to go through trials sometime and they're definitely no different. ROMANTIC UNDYRUS. Implied Soriel.</p><p>This story will be in 2 parts. It's also filled with delicious suspense and angst. Co-written by the-lovely-dobostorte</p><p>To be adapted into a musical by Combustible Pasta Studios on youtube.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1: Chapter 1

With the morning stillness inside the house, no one would've guessed that there had been chaos in the nearby neighborhoods that night. Undyne dragged herself out of bed with a stretch and a yawn and headed downstairs to where her happy fiancé was busy at work in the kitchen. Shuffling to the kitchen table, she pulled over a chair and sat down on it backwards.

"GOOD MORNING, UNDYNE." said Papyrus as he cheerfully flipped a pancake on the stove. "DID YOU SLEEP WELL?"

"I guess so," she muttered, reaching for the TV remote and turning on the television. "Had a weird dream, though."

"REALLY?" Papyrus asked with interest. "WHAT ABOUT?"

Undyne shrugged. "I dunno… it involved you and some weird quest for a… new kind of pasta? You seemed excited."

"A NEW KIND OF PASTA? THAT SOUNDS INTRIGUING!" Papyrus said as he tipped a few pancakes onto her plate. "I HOPE THIS ONE COMES TRUE. WHAT DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD NAME OUR NEW PASTA?"

"Hmm…" She stared at the plate in front of her. "I guess we could make it like kids' pasta, only in the shape of spears and bones. And we can call it… umm… I don't know."

"'I DON'T KNOW'... UNDYNE, ARE WE MAKING A MYSTERY BRAND PASTA? IT SOUNDS MYSTERIOUS AND DELICIOUS."

"Different shapes in every box. Always a surprise." Undyne speared an entire pancake on her fork and took a bite out of it. "So, what's on your agenda today? First day off in like… what, 2 years?"

"VERY FUNNY." Papyrus deadpanned. "AND FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I WAS PLANNING ON DOING SOME HOUSEWORK, ALPHABETIZING OUR BOOKSHELVES, AND CLEANING OUT THE GUTTERS."

"So basically it's just like every other day." Undyne took another bite out of the pancake and pointed it at him with her fork. "You need to relax, my man."

"I RELAX WHEN YOU'RE HERE." Papyrus winked at her. "RELAXING IS FUN WHEN YOU HAVE COMPANY."

"Hmm maybe we need to take a day off together sometime." Undyne shoved the entire rest of the pancake into her mouth and grinned.

Their attention was diverted when the 'breaking news' music began to blare from the TV speakers. "This just in: police crews are investigating what appears to be a double murder out on Green Tree Drive. The bodies of two people, a man and a woman, were found just outside their home with stab wounds directly to the heart. No witnesses have come forward, and police are urging people to take extra precautions as this appears to be the latest in a series of serial murders."

"Damn it." Undyne muttered, taking out her phone. "And my phone's dead, they've probably been calling all morning. Perfect. Sorry, Papyrus, I have to get going."

The skeleton's face fell. "OH… ALL RIGHT. HAVE A GOOD DAY, UNDYNE!"

"Love you." Undyne said as she grabbed her bag and rushed out the door.

"I LOVE YOU-" _Slam_. "...TOO."

Papyrus sighed and put Undyne's two remaining pancakes in a tupperware for later. He knew she loved her job as a cop but sometimes it consumed all her focus, causing her to forget the little things. Like finishing breakfast. Or making small talk with her handsome fiancé. Or kissing said handsome fiancé goodbye before rushing out the door.

But it was all right. He could live with that as long as she was happy.

* * *

"Thank God you finally got here; did your phone die or something?" Chief Barkley shook his head as Undyne stormed in through the meeting room door. The other officers were gathered around the table, drinking coffee, tea, and anything else that could pry their tired eyes open.

"Sorry. It did." Undyne grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down.

The chief turned his attention to the projector screen behind him; images of the murder scene described on the news that morning appeared for the entire room to examine.

"Now listen to me, this is the third case this month and we still have no leads, no witnesses."

"But we know it's a serial case?" asked the officer sitting next to Undyne. "Sorry, the other department just assigned me to this."

"Every single victim was stabbed directly in the heart with an oddly-shaped, triangular weapon. None of us have ever seen stab wounds like it but the weapon appears to have been serrated. And each body is sprinkled with those sort of glow in the dark stars you see on kids bedroom ceilings. You can get 'em at any dollar store."

One officer at the back of the room put his coffee cup down. "Are we calling this guy the 'Starlight Killer' or something?"

"That's exactly what we're calling him. Or her."

"Sooo…" Undyne began. "Are we seeing any pattern in terms of who the victims were?"

Chief Barkley shook his head. "A white male in his 50s, a black female in her 30s, and an elderly Middle Eastern couple. No apparent connection between locations or the victims. This seems entirely random."

The new officer considered this for a moment before asking "do you think… the killer was human?"

"Are you implying a monster did it?" Undyne asked, eyebrow raised.

She raised her hands defensively. "No, no, I'm just considering all options."

"It's unlikely but you're right. We have to consider all possibilities in connection to this case." Chief Barkley took a quick sip from his coffee cup.

The man in the back spoke up once more. "Have the stars been dusted for prints?"

"Yes. The killer wiped them clean. Or, possibly," he eyed Undyne for a second, "didn't have any to begin with."

The fishwoman folded her arms. "Could've worn gloves, too…" she muttered.

"Officer Asgoreman, while it is true that monsters haven't gone on a serial killing rampage in the past, that doesn't mean it's not a possibility. We will explore all angles."

"I'm not saying we shouldn't, I just think it's possible that you're barking up the wrong tree. So to speak."

The newbie snickered for a moment before clearing her throat to cover it up.

"That remains to be seen." The chief finished his coffee in one gulp.

* * *

A stack of paper was unceremoniously dumped onto Undyne's desk, miraculously kept together by its own weight.

"Oh joy." Undyne muttered as the newbie sat down beside her. "Sorry, who are you? I didn't catch your name."

"Officer Jorgenson. Inga." she held out a hand for Undyne to shake. "You?"

"Undyne." Undyne reluctantly shook her hand. "So what did you do to get yourself dumped in monster central?"

"I worked on a similar case. Nutjob covered his victims in a weird paper mache casing. Pretty sick but your department needed some help from someone who has dealt with this before."

"You say that kinda nonchalantly." Undyne said as she dug into the paperwork.

Inga shrugged. "I've been on the force for eight years. Nothing phases me anymore."

"Well this is only my second murder case. First one we caught within 12 hours of the crime. But this… it's been a month and nothing. This guy's thorough. I've had to remind my fiance to lock the front door to the house, but he keeps forgetting. Or maybe just wants to let in any creep that wants to get in."

"Ahh, my husband is that total opposite. I swear, he'd deadlock that door if he could." Inga smiled, shaking her head at the thought, before digging into the pile.

"All officers to the meeting room! _Now_!" Chief Barkley shouted.

"We just _finished_ a meeting but okay." Undyne stood up, exchanging a look with Inga as they traipsed back into the recently vacated room.

As soon as everyone was seated, the chief clicked the projector screen to an image of an envelope. "We just received this in the mail slot. The mail hasn't yet arrived for the day, and, judging by the copious amount of stars on this envelope, our culprit might be trying to send us a message." He clicked to the next page, showcasing a letter with cut-and-paste ransom letters. "And if that's the case, then our killer is not only a collage artist, but also a poet."

Everyone directed their attention to the note, which read:

_To whom it may concern:_

_You've probably noticed my craft;  
_ _Oblivious ones are quite daft.  
_ _Under these circumstances,  
_ _Regarding your chances,  
_ _Forget it and throw them all aft._

_I've got a small puzzle for you,  
_ _And it is just a trifle or two.  
_ _Now be good girls and boys  
_ _Cause you'll need all your toys  
_ _Ev'ry piece will be tailored for you._

_In a home full of promise and hope  
_ _Sits a message with which you must cope,  
_ _There just isn't much time  
_ _On this watch, before crime,  
_ _And they'll be at the end of their rope_

_So with these words, I bid you adieu,  
_ _There's little time to find the next clue._

"What the…" Undyne muttered under her breath as she read and reread the poem. "This is gibberish. What exactly does the killer expect us to get out of this? And what does he mean by 'on this watch'?"

Chief Barkley held up a stopwatch counting down from 45 minutes. "I think he's given us a time limit to solve the clue."

Mr. Coffee at the back of the room pointed toward the screen. "Seems like there's something about another clue in there. What is this, a scavenger hunt?"

"Hold on…" Inga stood up and walked up to the screen. "Look at the first letter of each line."

"What's that got to… ohh." Undyne leaned forward. "Y...O...U...R...F...I...A...N...C...E…" her heart stopped. Taking a deep breath, she read the message outright. "Your fiance is toast."

"Anybody in here getting married soon?" Mr. Coffee asked. "Specifically to a man? Only one E in that."

Undyne needed only to look around the room once to confirm her worst fears.

"Oh my god." she muttered, standing up and getting out her barely charged phone. "Oh my _god_!"

"Officer Asgoreman!"

But Undyne wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention as she left for the hallway. Her fingers shaking, she navigated through to the contacts menu and tapped the entry for Papyrus. She felt violently ill at ease as she waited for his usual greeting.

"Come on…" she muttered through the rings. "Come on, you big dork, answer the phone."

A harsh, unfamiliar voice rang through the speaker. "We're sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service. Unless you crack my clues. Better bring everyone on board. You've got less than an hour." There was a pause before a horribly familiar voice shouted from what sounded like the other end of the room, "IS THAT UNDYNE? PLEASE, LET ME TALK TO H-"

"Papyrus!" Undyne cried, knowing it was hopeless the moment she heard the click on the other end.

"Officer Asgoreman?" Inga poked her head through the door.

Undyne turned around, her phone still in her hand. "He's got him." she gritted her teeth, willing a surge of righteous anger to course through her. "He's got Papyrus."


	2. Part 1: Chapter 2

As Inga went back into the room to inform Chief Barkley and the others of the news, Undyne stood still, her eye still fixed on her phone. It was the last thing that Undyne would've expected that morning; Papyrus, the love of her life and best friend, being thrust into her world of murder and mayhem? And of all things, the case with presumably the one known as the Starlight Killer? The rug had been thoroughly and swiftly yanked out from beneath her feet.

She stared at her phone, the voices replaying over and over in her head. Papyrus had sounded so frightened, so panicked… There wasn't much in the world that could scare Undyne, but this? This topped that very small list with no trouble.

"Okay," she whispered. "Papyrus needs you. Pull it together." She took a deep breath and counted to three as anger flared within her. She let it course through her, taking over all her other emotions, allowing it to eclipse the panic she felt right to her core. "This SOB is going down."

Inga stepped out of the meeting room and stood next to Undyne, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry… I told them about what happened, and Chief Barkley's organizing a team to handle this case, but we still need to figure out the rest of the clue. You coming?"

"Let me at it." Undyne stomped into the room and peered at the poem again.

Mr. Coffee stood in the back making his usual direct observations. "It says something about a home; think that's important?"

"Maybe it's our home." Undyne bit her lip and read it over for a third time. "Damn it, I'm terrible at this. Alphys was always… oh. Wait a minute. The thing about getting everyone together or… pieces being tailored… screw it, I'm calling Alphys."

* * *

"Arrgh! But that's got to conflict with dating etiquette _somewhere_!" The aforementioned Alphys was, at that very moment, arguing with an anonymous entity online about the severe lack of ethics displayed in _Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2_ when her phone rang. She jumped a little before realizing that the ringtone was the one she'd assigned to Undyne's number. A pang of nervousness jolted through her as she answered it. "H-Hello?"

"Alphys, I need you. Now." Undyne's voice came in loud and clear. "You always solved all those cryptic clues when we played those puzzle games together; I need one now."

The dino-like monster quickly glanced at her clock. "Umm… aren't you at work?"

"Yeah, and it's a literal matter of life and death."

The color flushed from her face as soon as those words were spoken. Life and death? What a way to start a Monday morning. "U-Uh, I-I'll be there as soon as I can."

"No time. I'm sending you the picture now. Figure it out."

"U-Uh, even better?" She watched as the new email notification danced onto her screen, with a cheery 'meow' for its arrival. It was hardly a matching tone for the content inside. A few clicks later had her staring face to face with the letter's photograph.

"W-Well," she began. "I-It's mostly written in limericks… and, um…" her eyes widened. "Omigod, whose fiancé is… Undyne?"

"It's Papyrus." Undyne said, gritted teeth audible even from the receiver. "So I need this information _now_."

"Is he okay? Is he-"

"No, he's not okay; _focus_ , Alphys!"

She jumped once more, this time at the sudden increase in Undyne's volume. "R-Right, sorry!" Her eyes quickly flew over the poem as she desperately tried to make sense of it. "It's the house. The next clue is at your house and he wants all of us involved."

"How the hell did you-"

"It'd take too long to explain, let's go." Alphys grabbed her coat and bolted out the door. "I'll call Asgore, you call Sans and Toriel."

"Got it."

* * *

Undyne knew something was terribly wrong when she arrived at her house, sirens blazing. The front door was ajar. Papyrus was trusting, but he wasn't _that_ trusting. Getting her gun out of its holster, she kicked the door in and entered.

It was obvious from the second she caught sight of the foyer that no one was home anymore. A vase was smashed on the ground, the table it rested on knocked to the side.

"Papyrus!" she called, knowing that it was hopeless. Still, she couldn't help but hope she would hear him respond, maybe ask her why she sounded so panicked. "Papyrus, are you here?"

No response. But a moment later, Alphys stumbled in through the front door. "U-Undyne!"

"He put up a fight." Undyne said, surveying the room. "Whatever happened in here, he put up a fight. He would never leave the place this messy or unsecured."

"Y-You always said he was s-strong…" Her eyes opened wide when she saw the bones embedded in the wall. "N-Now I think I see what you meant." She glanced around the room, in frightened awe of the battle that had apparently taken place. She then got back to the other matter at hand. "So… is there are another clue?"

"I don't know." Undyne walked cautiously into the next room, gun raised. "There better be."

"PAPYRUS!" There was a loud slamming sound and heavy footsteps echoed through the eerily silent house. "PAPYRUS?"

"Sans?" Undyne lowered her gun when her future brother-in-law became visible. "Keep your voice down." She internally marveled that she'd ever had to utter those words to him; was this the first time she'd ever heard him yell? She wasn't sure.

"have you found anything?"

"No." Undyne stepped into the living room, gun still raised. "Where's Toriel?"

"on her way. so? what the hell, undyne!"

She flung her arms out defensively. "This is no picnic for me either, Sans, now shut up." Undyne looked over at the TV, her brow furrowed. "What the…" she peered at the grainy image on the screen.

To the surprise of everyone in the room, it was paused on a video… a video of the inside of Undyne and Papyrus' house.

A chill ran down her spine. "We don't have a security camera so what…" Undyne hurried back to the kitchen and looked up. To her horror, a tiny camera was set up on the ceiling. "When did that get there? _How_ did that get there?"

Alphys trotted over and stared up at the device. "Th-That's a newer model from the Todelco brand. I-I've used them before; they're g-great for remote monitoring… i-in fact, you can a-access the feed from your c-cell phone."

"Great." Undyne punched the counter. "So he's watching our every move."

The yellow monster looked to her friend, exceedingly concerned. "U-Undyne… just who could be s-so invested in your life to go to these lengths?"

"undyne!" Sans called from the other room. "you might want to see this."

Less than a second later, Undyne was by Sans' side. "What is it?"

"The video. On the tv." Sans pressed play with the remote.

The scene that played out before their eyes was everything they expected, and much worse. Undyne quickly left as she had that morning, but shortly after she had exited the frame, a dark, hulking figure appeared and grabbed Papyrus from behind, a small cloth in hand. The skeleton monster struggled, throwing bones left and right, but the invader succeeded, covering Papyrus' mouth and nose. He was out in a matter of seconds, and the dark figure effortlessly dragged him from the scene.

Undyne's heart thudded painfully in her chest. It was one thing to imagine what could've happened, but to actually be able to _see_ what had happened to her loved one… She growled and turned from the screen once the action had finished.

Alphys noticed and placed a hand on Undyne's forearm. It wasn't much, but she hoped it would at least offer her friend a little reassurance.

Sans turned to see them both with their attention away from the screen. "guys, he's back!" he said, pointing. The two other monsters turned back around just in time to see the dark figure place something in the oven.

No one needed to say anything; Undyne was immediately at the oven, opening the door. To her surprise, there was a letter inside, with the same starry envelope as the first. She tore it open to find another cut-and-paste letter, this time done with individual letters. "Who the hell has the kind of patience for this crap?"

A moment later, the rest of the officers assigned to the case arrived on the scene, including Officer Inga and Mr. Coffee. "Asgoreman, what's the situation?" Inga asked.

Mr. Coffee whistled. "What a mess…"

Undyne waved the paper around. "More from our artsy killer; and it's _complete_ gibberish this time!"

Everyone gathered around as she held out the letter for them all to see:

_Jimmu, qiupt._

_Ov tiint auy'wi tumwif vji gostv dmyi epf guypf vjev auys juyti jet ciip dunqsunotif. Duphsevymevoupt. Cyv vjot ot kytv vji cihoppoph._

_O'n puv huoph vu ci vuu dsaqvod ecuyv ov vjot voni, topdi fidoqjisoph vjot xomm ci migv vu vji upi enuph auy xju ciest vji pisfoitv tqosov. Og auy dep sief vjet, vjip duphsevymevoupt, auy'wi jef vji opvimmohipdi vu csoph jis emuph xovj auy._

_Tji't emtu onqusvepv et vu vji mudevoup ug vji pizv dmyi; egvis emm, auy vxu ytif vu fevi, fufp'v auy? Jux muph fuf vjev metv? Guys nupvjt? Og auy'f moli vji djepdi vu csiel vjev sidusf xovj auys yqdunoph nessoehi, O tyhhitv auy tviq ov yq. Voni vu veli e vsoq fuxp ninusa mepi vu vjev qmedi xjisi auy gostv hewi auys hosmotj dsytj e movvmi fotqmea ug eggidvoup. Sinincis vjev lpudluyv qidl up vji djiil? Jupitvma, xovj et xiel e duptvovyvoup et jisv, O'n tysqsotif tji tyswowif vjev vu jewi e simevouptjoq xovj auy._

_Vodl-vudl. Auy jewi gusva-gowi nopyvit vu hiv vjisi._

_Q.T. O tjuymf nipvoup vjev vji sitv ug vji qumodi gusdi tjuymf PUV hiv opwumwif._ _Kytv auy epf auys gsoipft ev vji pizv mudevoupt, qmieti. Xi xuymfp'v xepv epavjopf vu jeqqip vu auys goepdí qsinevysima, pux xuymf xi? O'n xevdjoph._

The sight of the letters simultaneously infuriated Undyne and left her feeling more helpless than a caged rat adrift on a raging river. It took a good deal of her strength to ignore the impulse to tear it up.

Sans, who had stuck his head in the oven to take a good look around, popped up behind the group. "i found this stopwatch inside; probably goes with the letter, in which case we've got about forty-three minutes left."

Undyne looked ready to level the whole room. "With this level of bull-"

"WAIT!" Alphys shouted. "I know this!"

The fishwoman felt her disbelief crawling on her back, but she knew she had to trust her friend. "...You do?"

"Yes! Th-this isn't gibberish, it's Chilzumiise! Rather, i-it's a cipher that's used as the language in this online RP blog I've been f-following."

Silence pervaded the room for a moment.

"Y-You basically just sh-shift the consonants over to the next one alphabetically. S-Same with the vowels. G-Give me a few minutes and I-I'll translate it for you."

The few minutes felt much longer than they should have; in fact, Undyne was about ready to ask Alphys to hurry it up when the reptilian monster shouted "Done!" and showed her work to everyone.

_Hello, peons._

_It seems you've solved the first clue and found that your house has been compromised. Congratulations. But this is just the beginning._

_I'm not going to be too cryptic about it this time, since deciphering this will be left to the one among you who bears the nerdiest spirit. If you can read this, then congratulations, you've had the intelligence to bring her along with you._

_She's also important as to the location of the next clue; after all, you two used to date, didn't you? How long did that last? Four months? If you'd like the chance to break that record with your upcoming marriage, I suggest you step it up. Time to take a trip down memory lane to that place where you first gave your girlish crush a little display of affection. Remember that knockout peck on the cheek? Honestly, with as weak a constitution as hers, I'm surprised she survived that to have a relationship with you._

_Tick-tock. You have forty-five minutes to get there._

_P.S. I should mention that the rest of the police force should NOT get involved. Just you and your friends at the next locations, please. We wouldn't want anything to happen to your fiancé prematurely, now would we? I'm watching._

"How…" Alphys looked down at her phone and then back up to the letter.

"Who cares how. Getting Papyrus back is more important. We do what he says." Undyne leaned down to look at Alphys more closely. "Which beach was that?"

Betrayal painted the shorter monster's face. "You… forgot?"

"It was two years ago, Alphys!"

"W-Well, true, but…" Had it really not left that big of an impact on Undyne? Maybe this whole incident with Papyrus was clouding her memory. Either way, it was up to Alphys. "...I… think it was… Del Rosa Beach?"

"Okay, let's-"

"What happened here?" came a deep voice from the foyer. "Undyne? Are you here?"

It was like a cool drink of water to hear someone so familiar. "Asgore! We're in the kitchen."

Two goatlike monsters walked into the kitchen, looking around at the mess. Toriel's eyes widened.

"Oh Papyrus…" she muttered, her paw on her heart.

"Yeah." Undyne cleared her throat. "We deciphered the clue. No time to explain; I'll tell you everything on the way. And leave your cars; we're taking mine."

Undyne left Inga and Mr. Coffee in charge of examining the house for more clues as the rest of them headed out to Undyne's cruiser. Asgore climbed into the front passenger seat while Alphys and Toriel made their way into the back.

"Sans, aren't you gonna…?" Undyne asked.

"can I just talk to you for a moment? like, for a second?"

"We don't have much-"

"we have time for this." Sans pulled her aside and backed her against the bumper of her police cruiser, his teal eye blazing. "now you listen to me: if anything happens to my brother, i will hold you personally responsible.

Undyne shook her head. "Sans, I don't want this any more than you do. Even less so, because I'm the one who's just a few weeks shy of binding myself to him in wedded bliss."

"yeah, that's the thing. papyrus wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for your position. so if he gets hurt or killed because you had to take the most dangerous job on the surface, his dust is on _your_ hands." He poked her in the stomach with his pointer finger. "now let's rescue my brother."

She wanted to respond. She _really_ did. But there wasn't any more time for that. She closed the door after him and headed to the driver's seat, got in, and hit the road for Del Rosa Beach.


	3. Part 1: Chapter 3

The drive to Del Rosa Beach was a generally quiet one; with the stress of the situation, everyone in the group realized it probably wasn't a good idea to get into lengthy discussion, particularly about anything that might cause distress regarding the abduction. The blaring sirens weren't helping either.

Twenty-five minutes into the drive, they pulled into the parking lot for the aforementioned beach. Undyne didn't waste any time; while the others were just getting their seatbelts unbuckled, Undyne was already out the door, careening down the terrain for the beach.

"Move!" she barked at a duo of little girls, who were sitting on the repaired concrete. The girls scampered off and Undyne began to search the half wall for a clue.

"Did you find it?" Alphys panted, finally catching up to her.

"No." Undyne kicked the wall, making a sizeable dent in it. "This is where we were sitting!"

The dinosaur-like monster stared at the wall. "I-I don't think there's anywhere they could've hidden it in h-here… m-maybe they just chose this beach in general, b-but hid it somewhere less obvious…"

Undyne got the stopwatch out of her pocket. "Five minutes." she turned to her friends. "Everyone split up and search this beach from top to bottom!"

No time was wasted as each member of the group split up to search different areas of the shore. Alphys took the surf shacks to the west, Asgore took the rocks to the southeast, Toriel took the broken statue to the north, Undyne took the dock to the southwest, and Sans zipped around from place to place, checking the locations that everyone else couldn't.

"I found it!" Toriel shouted a few minutes later, holding up a starred envelope.

Within seconds, everyone crowded around her as she opened the envelope and unfurled the paper.

_HELLO AGAIN._

_SO YOU'VE FOUND THE ENVELOPE  
_ _YOU'RE ANOTHER STEP CLOSER TO HIM  
_ _YOU PROBABLY SAW THE SECOND WATCH STOP  
_ _AND THE THIRD WATCH START  
_ _IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IN A WAY  
_ _AND THIS MAY BE A TOUGH CONCEPT TO ABSORB  
_ _IT'S KIND OF LIKE LIFE, ALL IN ALL  
_ _LIVES COME AND GO, IT'S IMPROMPTU  
_ _BUT IT'S LIKE A BEAUTIFUL DANCE  
_ _PUT ON YOUR SHOES AND FROLIC  
_ _AMONG THOSE WHO'VE SAID GOODBYE AND HELLO  
_ _THERE WASN'T MUCH TIME FOR GRIEF  
_ _IN YOUR CASE, YOU THIEF  
_ _YOU'VE MORE REGRETS THAN I  
_ _YOU STOPPED SIX "WATCHES" BACK THEN_

_IN ANY CASE, ENJOY THE HUNT._

"More gibberish." Undyne growled. She glanced at the stopwatch included with the envelope. "...Well, it's giving us a little more than three hours this time. I don't like what that implies."

Alphys stared hard at the paper. "N-No, there's gotta be a p-pattern here somewhere. M-Maybe it's in the first letters? Th-Then again, it'd be highly irregular f-for a killer to do that twice…"

"Well, let's see…" The fishwoman stared at the first letter on each line. "S...Y...Y...A… No. Unless this is some crazy acronym, just no."

Asgore turned from the group for a moment, overcome with a heaviness of heart that only those who suffered with crushing regret could understand.

"What? Asgore? Do you have something?" Undyne asked tentatively.

He hesitated; the thought of having to deal with everyone's judgment-especially Toriel's-over his past sins dug at him like the serial killer's apparent weapon, but he thought about who and what was at stake. His adoptive daughter. Her fiancé. Their happiness. The happiness of Papyrus' brother. And in turn, Toriel's happiness through Sans.

He swallowed hard. "...It's… directed at me, and the… regrettable action I took to gather the six human souls before Frisk."

Toriel shifted her gaze, but said nothing.

He paused, shaking his head in disbelief. "This killer… they seem to know everything. It's as though they have been watching our every move."

"They probably have." Undyne put a hand on Asgore's arm, hoping to ease his troubled mind in some way. "Where's the next clue?"

"It's in the Underground." Asgore replied. "In one of the… the coffins."

"But which one?"

Alphys' hand shot up. "I-I think I've got it! Ch-Check out the letters here at the end of each line. I-I thought it was unlikely, but it looks like th-there's at least a little predictability with our killer, here." Holding her claw to the paper, she traced a line through the last letter of each line of words on the paper.

"...Empty blue coffin…" Asgore muttered. "The letter was talking about dancing. I'd remembered that one of the humans danced as she and I fought, but… the color of her soul had escaped me."

"The Underground is what, almost three hours away?"

Toriel pointed to a clock crudely drawn at the bottom of the page. "Three o' clock. Three hours from now."

"Then we better get going." Undyne bolted back to the cruiser, her friends following closely behind.

* * *

The trees whizzed past as Undyne pushed the cruiser as fast as she legally could, driving deeper into the Appalachian mountains. She'd thought about turning her siren on, but to have that for about three hours of driving would've been torture for her and her passengers. And goodness knows the severity of the whole event was already starting to take a toll on her. The constant flow of adrenaline had her tense and irritable, and her stomach had been in a knot for the past hour already.

Much like the drive to the beach, this ride had been silent, but the awkwardness was multiplied as the trip was about six times as long. Toriel sat in the back, her arm around Sans. Alphys kept to herself, staring out the window, her mind occupied with figuring out the killer's possible motives, their methods for clues, and the like. Undyne focused on her driving, although she appreciated Asgore's small gesture of support when he placed a hand on her shoulder.

With about 15 minutes to spare, the cruiser pulled to a stop in front of the pathway leading to Mt. Ebott's exit. There was a bit of a hike up the path, but Undyne would've scaled three mountains if it meant her fiancé was safe. Judging by how well the others kept up, the sentiment was shared.

"Seven minutes left!" Undyne shouted as they reached the gaping hole in the mountain's side. "Where did you say the coffins were again?"

Asgore made directional gestures as he caught up to her and the rest of the group. "To the left as you exit the throne room; hurry!"

Undyne didn't need to be told twice. She just about dove through the entrance to the Underground, stopping only for a second to turn on a flashlight. In short order, the echoes of five sets of feet filled the empty halls of the mountain.

They quickly exited the throne room and carefully charged down a long staircase to a crypt that sat well below the main level of the palace… a crypt that was filled with seven identical coffins, save for the inscription and the color of the heart shape on the front of each one.

"Okay, blue… blue…" Undyne quickly muttered as her flashlight darted over the lid of each coffin. "BLUE! Got it! Oh… my god." She reached in and extracted a long, orange scarf.

If looks could kill, the look that manifested itself on Sans' face when the scarf was lifted into sight would've leveled an entire army. Alphys' eyes widened.

Shakily, Undyne extracted two thing from the scarf: a small note and what looked like a polaroid style photograph. Never in her life had she had the simultaneous desire to mercilessly crush and tenderly hold an object at the same time. In the photograph was Papyrus, poor, sweet Papyrus, blindfolded and tied to a chair. Visual though it may have been, Undyne could feel his fear so intensely, it felt like the very core of her body was being constricted by some unseen force. With effort, she swallowed the lump in her throat and unrolled the accompanying paper.

_When is a door not a door?_

_Oh wait, this punch line does not apply to your situation._

"Looks like this one is yours." Undyne thrust the note into Sans' hand.

The small skeleton didn't appreciate her tone, but he did his best to ignore it as he looked over the riddle. "a door… heh, this is a classic. a door isn't a door when it's ajar. i'd be laughing if this were any other set of circumstances. but what does that…" The object in Undyne's hand caught his attention.

"What?"

He pointed to the photo. "was that wrapped up with the riddle? what is it?"

"It's not important." Undyne said dismissively. "What's the clue?"

"i… i don't know, have you heard this one, tori?" Sans handed Toriel the note without even looking at her. "what's in your hand?" He began walking toward Undyne, almost as if in a trance.

"Sans, just _focus_ on the clue, okay?"

"give me what's in your hand, undyne. i'm not stupid, i know it's important. why aren't you letting me see it?" He tried to grab the photo from her.

The fishwoman was trying her hardest to keep the emotionally-charged distraction out of his hands. "Sans, don't!"

Before she knew it, an eerie teal glow surrounded the photograph and it was thrust from her hand. Sometimes she could curse that bizarre and slightly freaky power of his.

Sans was silent for the first few moments after seeing the Polaroid. It was a silence that served as a thin veneer for the emotion that raged just beneath the surface. His eyes were black and empty as death. "if we find that psychopath, i will kill him with my bare hands."

"Get in line," said Undyne darkly.


	4. Part 1: Chapter 4

"So?" Undyne tapped her foot rapidly, crossing her arms tightly. "What's the answer?"

"I believe this clue was meant for me," said Toriel. She gently took the paper from Sans and studied it carefully, squinting a bit. "There is one door that I was reluctant to open. A door I hid behind for years. The joke would not have any punch line in that situation."

"the ruins." Sans muttered. "how does this person know so much about us?"

"Doesn't matter. We have forty-five minutes and that's all the way across the Underground. And unless I'm mistaken, the elevators aren't working and we definitely don't have a River Person." Undyne pointed her flashlight at the door. "Let's go."

A fresh wave of anxiety settling over the group, they quickly climbed back up the staircase and headed out of the castle into New Home. The empty streets were an eerily silent reminder of days long past, when the hopes and dreams of one day breaking free to the surface lit up the city. The present sight was more like an unsettling nightmare.

Several minutes later, and all the way through the blistering heat of Hotland, they finally arrived at Alphys' lab. Unsurprisingly, the automatic doors were behaving less than automatically due to the lack of power. Mustering up their strength, Undyne and Asgore managed to pull them apart, allowing them all inside.

"What the…" Undyne stopped for a second as they entered.

Glowing letters lit up the room. TICK TOCK.

"he's mocking us." Sans growled.

"...Ah…" Alphys was secretly disheartened at the vandalism of the place she'd once called home, but all she could do was shake her head and follow Undyne and Asgore to the other door, which they'd already begun trying to pry open.

"wait a second, do you hear something?" Sans paused, looking around the deserted lab.

"What do you hear?" Toriel asked.

"i dunno. sounds like a kinda scuffling."

"It doesn't matter, we have to keep… uurrrrghhh, _going_!" Undyne wrenched the door open and bolted out of it.

"It is probably mice. This place has been deserted for a long time." Toriel assured Sans as they followed Undyne out of the lab.

Down the path to Waterfall they tore, not taking in any of their surroundings. They were thankful for the rooms with the glowing rocks, which illuminated their path more effectively than Undyne's flashlight. Pretty soon the light cyan waters lit up the surrounding area for them, casting their shadows on the ceiling as they easily cleared the gap where a friendly and determined little bird used to sit.

With about fifteen minutes remaining, the group reached the edge of Snowdin. They didn't stop to catch their breath as they ran through the snow. Painted on the side of Sans and Papyrus's old house were more glowing letters but Undyne intentionally ignored them, diving into the shortcut instead. Within seconds, they reached the other side and bolted across the bridge. Sans did his best to suppress any feelings of nostalgia as they crossed his brother's handiwork.

When they finally reached the doors to the Ruins, out of breath and with two minutes to spare, they stared up at them in confusion.

"I don't... see anything..." Alphys said, looking around the area.

"Well…" Undyne huffed, "Maybe it's... behind the door?" She grunted, wedging her fingers into the gap between doors and heaving them open. She stumbled inside, her eye darting around for clues.

"Wait!" Asgore called, looking up at them. "Something is appearing."

"Of course. The door is ajar." Toriel crossed her arms. "And I think this clue is yours, Sans."

The small skeleton's soul sunk when he saw what had been left for him. Directly on the door, a set of glowing letters had appeared.

_MORE PUNS? OH BROTHER!  
_

_STOP ME IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS ONE:  
_ _OH WAIT, YOU HAVEN'T, ISN'T THAT HUMERUS?  
_ _YOU'VE NEVER HAD TO DEAL WITH A KID-BROTHER-NAPPING BEFORE  
_ _GETS UNDER YOUR SKIN, DOESN'T IT?  
_ _YOUR POOR BROTHER, YOU KNOW HE DOESN'T HAVE THE GUTS TO DEAL  
_ _TIBIA HONEST, HE'S PROBABLY FEELING PRETTY BONELY RIGHT NOW  
_ _THINKING HE HAS NO BODY TO SAVE HIM  
_ _MAYBE YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT WHERE HE SPENDS A LOT OF HIS TIME  
_ _BEFORE HE CHECKS OUT  
_ _POOR GUY IS SO BORING, HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE ANY SKELETONS IN HIS CLOSET  
_ _BUT I'M SURE YOU'LL FIND SOMETHING MUCH MORE INTERESTING  
_ _IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY BONE TIRED  
_ _NO TIME LIMIT THIS TIME  
_ _I'LL PATELLA YOU MORE WHEN YOU GET THERE_   


_BUT COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, YEAH?  
_ _AT LEAST I DIDN'T GET YOUR GOAT  
_ _ACTUALLY, THAT ALL DEPENDS ON YOU, DOESN'T IT?_

"Sans?" Toriel put a paw on his shoulder.

Sans' teal eye glowed. "it's at the house."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Undyne started charging off.

"W-Wait!" Alphys called. "C-Can't we take a... quick break? I-I mean… m-my heart's still pounding from... all the r-running…" She glanced over at Asgore, who gave her a sympathetic look. "I-I'm not so good with… long-distance exercise…"

Undyne whipped around, biting her lip. Clenching and unclenching her fists, she sighed. "Fine… but don't take too long."

Toriel watched as Undyne bounced impatiently. "At the very least, we have been given no time limit." She gently rubbed Sans' shoulder. "It should make getting there less hectic."

Sans said nothing. The agony he felt in the deepest reaches of his soul had taken all the words from his mouth.

Once everyone was feeling a little more rested, the group finally began their trek back through the woods to Snowdin. No one said much of anything, their ears filled with the deafening silent atmosphere and the soft crushing of snow beneath their feet.

But the snow wasn't the only thing that was crushed; further down the path, they came across Papyrus' old sentry station, which now sat in little more than a ruined pile of cardboard… cardboard that was covered in stars. Toriel and Alphys gasped, their hands at their lips; Asgore shook his head; Undyne growled.

Their reactions were interrupted by a huge explosion of light and a shockwave of sound that nearly burst their eardrums. When they finally looked back to the sentry station, it was gone, and behind it was a large rounded gap carved into the forest. And there stood Sans, arm outstretched, hand smoking, and eye emitting a bright cyan light. He was panting.

"let's go," he said, quickly turning and continuing down their original path. No one said a word as they followed after him.

When they finally reached the house, their ample time limit allowed them a clearer view of the glowing graffiti that now adorned it: COME ON IN.

"He knew we would run right past it." Undyne said through gritted teeth. "One step ahead of us, like always."

Of all the old locations they had passed, Sans and Papyrus' house was the creepiest. There was something unsettling about seeing a house, once happily lived in, now fallen into disrepair. The creepiness was even further compounded once they reached the inside, a veritable copy of the mess they'd seen at Undyne and Papyrus' current house: completely and utterly in shambles. There was every indication that this had been an intentional mess as well.

Undyne frowned as she scanned the wreckage. Bones had been wedged into the wall. Furniture had been upset. Containers of spaghetti had been slopped all over the place. And…

Why were the pictures on the walls the only things that were left untouched?

The fishwoman walked over to one of them to see what was so special as to leave it alone compared to everything else. And that's when her heart sank.

The same person. The same location. Papyrus was photographed from every angle, each of the pictures a parade of suffering. She followed the trail up the stairs, watching as the photographs got closer and closer to Papyrus' face. By the end, she realized that they were close enough to show the faint lines of tears streaming down his cheekbones.

"NGAHHHH!" In one swift motion, she grabbed the last picture and thrust it into the floor, splintering the frame and sending tiny shards of glass flying. Had she not been wearing the long pants of her uniform, she would have been grazed for sure by the sharp debris.

"Undyne!" Alphys cried, waddling up the stairs. "Are you all right?"

She just stood there for a moment, panting. Once she'd caught her breath, she smoothed her disheveled hair a bit. "...I'm fine." She then turned to the bedroom behind her and opened the door.

The sight that greeted them was all at once expected and unexpected. On the one hand, as Papyrus had taken most of his belongings, the room was fairly empty. But on the other hand, some items that shouldn't have been there lay before them. There was a large speaker in the corner, switched off. And on the right wall, written in bones like darts in a dartboard, were the words "FOR THE NEXT CLUE, LISTEN UP."

Undyne, her stomach in knots, switched on the speaker. There was a lot of crackly silence, but over the din could be heard a lot of shuffling noises. And a voice not unlike the one that had answered Undyne's first panicked call to Papyrus.

"It was pretty impressive, let me tell you," said the electronically-altered voice. "I've never seen a group of people give up so easily, and I've seen a fair number of attempted rescues. Tell me, how have things been with your friends lately? You haven't done anything that would make them think ill of you, have you?"

A jolt of fear ran down Undyne's core as she heard the next voice.

"N...NO? I-I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING I COULD'VE DONE. WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN ON SUCH GOOD TERMS, MY FRIENDS AND I. SANS... UNDYNE… I TRY SO HARD TO MAKE THEM HAPPY."

"Oh. Well, then…" came the other voice. "I'm afraid you've just given me the answer to their actions."

"REALLY?"

"Of course! ...It's _you_."

There was a moment of silence that would've shattered glass had it not been for the intermittent crackles of the audio feed's static.

"...BUT… WHY? M-MY FRIENDS LOVE ME. I LOVE THEM TOO!"

There was a dark chuckle. "You're really sure about that? Don't you know the difference between love and pity?"

"...PITY?" His voice shrank.

"Oh yes! The classic signs are all there, you know? I've seen them. At best, you're inept, and at worst, you're utterly obnoxious. You're what many would call a 'burden.' Why in the world would they hang around you except to make you feel better?"

Papyrus began stuttering "B-B-BUT, UNDYNE, SHE-"

"Oh you poor, sweet thing; she's not interested in marrying you because of you. It's all out of pity. Just like she pitied you when she started training you, despite the fact that she was never going to let you into the royal guard in the first place!"

Undyne clutched at her chest, seething. "You dirty little…"

All that could be heard after the footsteps of the abductor leaving the room was the soft, choked up sniffling of a very brokenhearted skeleton, his usual effervescent optimism now under siege by the seed of doubt.


	5. Part 1: Chapter 5

Undyne stood motionless for a while; she hadn't even noticed that others had entered behind her while the kidnapper was berating Papyrus. The poor skeleton's sniffling continued for a good long while after the kidnapper had left, but not everyone in the room decided to stick around for the entire duration.

Alphys, feeling the heavy tension in the room, cleared her throat. "I, uh… I-I think I'm going to go l-look for some more clues regarding where P-Papyrus could be…"

She quickly left the room, eager to find a place with a less tense atmosphere. Toriel, seeing the state Sans was in, put a hand on his shoulder.

"tori, i need a moment. would you and asgore mind stepping out?"

Toriel, still concerned, nodded understandingly. She reluctantly motioned for Asgore to follow her, and the two stepped out, closing the door behind them.

There was a long silence, punctuated only by the crackle of the recording and the occasional sniffs from Papyrus. Suddenly, Sans's raspy growl cut through the silence.

"this is your fault."

"You said that before," Undyne muttered.

"maybe I didn't make myself clear then." Sans took a few strides until he and Undyne were inches apart. "all those years ago, you promised you'd never put papyrus in harm's way."

"I never _put_ him in harm's way. Why do you think I never let him into the Royal Guard?"

"no. you broke that promise the second you and he started… all this."

"What? You mean the moment we fell in love? We didn't really plan that!"

"yeah and you never really _planned_ to make it your life's ambition to track down the most dangerous people on the surface. you never really _planned_ to make papyrus the most important person in your life. right. my mistake."

Undyne clenched her fists. "Career aside, blaming me for what life decided to throw at us is _real_ mature, Sans. You know I'm not happy about this kidnapping either. I'm _devastated_. Hearing him there, helpless and alone, you don't think it's tearing _my_ heart out too?" She walked off to the corner of the room, giving the wall a frustrated kick. "Especially since I can't do a damn thing about it right now!"

Sans was silent for several seconds before speaking up again. "we both know that would be alphys on the other end if you'd just stuck with her instead of dragging my brother into this dangerous life of yours."

Undyne whipped around, fists clenched even tighter. "How _dare_ you..."

"how dare i think about my brother's safety? how dare i prioritize my only family's life over your cute little squeeze for four months?"

"You're acting like I _planned_ this whole thing, like I knew this was going to happen and I _let_ it happen anyway!"

"well forgive _me_ for overreacting. my brother might _die_ but you know, that's no big deal in your line of work. you probably see people die every day."

Undyne was about ready to tear out her hair. "If I'd known being with Papyrus would lead to… to _this_ -"

"you'd do it again because you don't think about anyone except yourself."

"That's not true!"

"you and alphys lasted four months. and before then it was cute little letter writing all while you didn't notice just how hung up he was on you."

"What?" Undyne was completely confused.

"god, you're thick, undyne. a complete idiot." Sans hissed. "this whole time, papyrus was completely in love with you. you were all he talked about. and you didn't give him a second glance until you and alphys were completely done. until you exhausted _that_ option. how do i know this creep isn't right about you?"

"You really think I'd promise to be with Papyrus for the rest of my _life_ if I didn't love him?" Undyne snapped, his words simultaneously stabbing her and fueling her anger.

"i don't know. first alphys can't stop talking about you and you give her a try. then papyrus does the same and you go ahead and try him on for size. just because it lasted longer-"

Undyne finally snapped and pitched spears at him, missing intentionally. It didn't surprise her that despite that, Sans still teleported to dodge.

"Why haven't you been using _that_ little gift?" Undyne demanded, anger raging within her.

"our guy is thorough. put up some kind of magic barrier." Sans explained. "but never mind that. if i lose my brother to your stupid desire for superiority, that's it. we're done."

"I don't think I want to be associated with you anymore _regardless_ of what happens." Undyne tagged. "If you're so keen on accusing me of dragging Papyrus along like some plaything."

"fine, whatever. then i'll just go associate with someone worth my time.."

"Good riddance!"

Sans yanked the door open and almost charged into Asgore as he stomped out and down the stairs. The surprised former king just watched as he left, then turned back to Undyne, still inside.

"I, um, heard an explosion," Asgore said. "Is… everything all right?"

Undyne threw her hands up in the air halfheartedly. "Oh yeah, sure… as all right as a house on fire."

"Oh." The large goat monster shuffled a bit, unsure of what to do next. He turned to leave, but paused when he and Undyne heard talking come over the speaker.

"MAYBE HE'S RIGHT, WHOEVER HE IS… IF I HADN'T BEEN KIDNAPPED, THEY WOULDN'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT ME. NO, WAIT, THEY'RE NOT WORRIED, ARE THEY? THEN WHY WOULD THEY LOOK FOR ME IN THE FIRST PLACE? OUT OF OBLIGATION? WHY DO THEY FEEL THEY NEED TO RESCUE ME?" Papyrus sighed. "I REALLY AM A BURDEN TO EVERYONE, AREN'T I?"

Undyne's eye went wide. "No…" She placed her hands on the sides of the speaker. "Papyrus, no…"

"I WISH YOU ALL WOULD COME LET ME OUT, THEN I COULD LEAVE YOU ALL SO YOU'D BE FREE OF ME. YOU WOULDN'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT ME ANYMORE. I CAN GO AND… MAKE SOME NEW FRIENDS, MAYBE? ...WOULD THOSE FRIENDS THINK I'M A BURDEN, TOO?"

"Papyrus, no, you're not a burden…"

The skeleton sighed. "UNDYNE, YOU ESPECIALLY… I'M SORRY I ASKED YOU TO MARRY ME IF IT'S JUST MAKING YOU UNHAPPY. I WAS SELFISHLY KEEPING YOU TO MYSELF WHEN YOU REALLY DIDN'T WANT IT. YOU SHOULD'VE JUST TOLD ME THAT YOU DIDN'T WANT TO GET MARRIED. I… I WOULD'VE UNDERSTOOD."

She gripped her fingers into the sides of the speaker until the casing started to indent under her fingertips. Shaking like an earthquake, she squeezed her eye tightly shut. "No, Papyrus, you adorable fool, don't be stupid! I _DO_ want to marry you! I _love_ you! I wouldn't have said yes if I wasn't sure!" She opened her eye and looked around, frustrated. "And _damn it_ , I can't tell you how I feel because you can't even _HEAR_ me!"

She thrust the speaker backwards into the wall, leaving a sizeable indent in the plaster. Papyrus' sniffling could still be heard, but it was covered by the agonized groan that escaped from Undyne's lips. She pulled her hands to her face, still shaking.

Asgore stepped carefully into the room, unsure of… anything at that point. Approaching Undyne, he said no words, but gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

In her mind's eye, it was like Undyne was a little girl again, a frustrated, upset child who just needed the comfort of a hug from her adoptive father. "I…" she grunted. "I-I'm just… so scared."

The large goat monster began lightly rocking back and forth, nodding.

"Like, wh-what if we do everything, follow every single one of this insane creep's demands, and _still_!" A large tear rolled down her cheek as she looked up at him.

"Shh shh…" Asgore rubbed her shoulder. "Do not talk like that."

"He c-can't die thinking we abandoned him." Undyne buried her face in Asgore's arm. "He can't die alone and scared because we didn't get to him in time. He _can't_."

Asgore was at a loss for words, but he knew that what Undyne needed right now was comfort and reassurance. That he could at least do.

* * *

A number of hours later into the night found everyone regrouped and fast asleep, having returned from wherever they'd been a few hours after the argument between Sans and Undyne. Shortly after Undyne and Asgore had finished hugging, they overheard Toriel chastising Sans over his attitude toward his future sister-in-law. As he entered the room, Sans didn't say a word to Undyne, nor did she say a word to him; the two of them still needed some time to cool down.

For the night, Undyne naturally found herself most comfortable in the spot where Papyrus' racing car bed used to reside, and given this, Asgore had parked himself in the same spot, leaning up against the wall. Alphys joined them, cuddling up next to Asgore, who had an arm around both her and Undyne's shoulders. Sans had taken to lying across Toriel's lap in the corner where Papyrus' computer used to be, on the opposite side of the room. When she wasn't nodding off, the goat woman periodically glanced over at Asgore, Undyne, and Alphys.

Despite all the care and affection, though, Undyne didn't get a wink of sleep. Anxiety consumed her as the static over the speaker occasionally shared a blip of Papyrus sobbing or sighing.

The worst moments were when the kidnapper would return, sometimes to inform Papyrus emphatically that his friends still weren't there despite such simple instructions, other times to mock him for being useless. The last straw for Undyne was when Papyrus asked for something, _anything_ to eat, and the kidnapper had merely laughed, refusing even that.

"What time is it?" Alphys asked, breaking a long silence that had made them wonder if Papyrus himself had dozed off.

Undyne checked her watch. "4:27 am."

"Twelve hours." Asgore muttered.

"What does he want us to hear?" Undyne asked darkly under her breath. "Aside from the torture he's putting Papyrus through?"

The clue to listen had been the only thing they could ascertain as of then. It had turned up in several places in the Underground when Sans, Toriel, Asgore, and Alphys had gone out searching. No one had found a sign of either Papyrus or the kidnapper at all. Ultimately, they had parked themselves in Papyrus' room and listened intently, wincing at the horrible events going on in a room they could not find.

"Resting comfortably, I hope?" came the electronic voice, loud enough that it awakened even Sans. "Good. I'm going to be leaving now. But I wanted to give you a little parting gift before I go."

"PLEASE LET ME GO, I WON'T TELL ANYONE-"

"Oh, but if I let you go, it won't be any fun, now will it?" The Starlight Killer let out a little laugh and undid something that sounded like Velcro. "Now don't move. I'm strapping it to you and it can be a little bit… _sensitive._ "

There was a silence punctuated by the scraping of the chair and the sticky sounds of duct tape upon skeleton. After a few seconds, he had finished.

"I think you'll have a blast with this final gift." He said, sounding rather pleased with himself even through the voice changer. "Get it? Because it's a bomb."

Undyne nearly skidded over to the speaker. " _What_?"

"As soon as I press this button," there was a beeping sound, "the timer will start to count down. Giving your friends only 30 minutes to reach you before you're blown to smithereens."

"no!" Sans growled.

"Where the _hell_ are you?" Undyne demanded into the speaker.

"The answer to where the hell I am..." the kidnapper said gleefully, sending a shiver down Undyne's spine; had he been able to hear everything? "...Is making a quick getaway. But your little friends will need to band together to disarm this bomb, assuming they find you in time. All five of them. Which means no one's going to have time to go after me. And there's no way your brother will be able to teleport himself here. I've sealed the place with magic. Meaning that if your friends want to find you, they'll have to get here on foot. They've got 29 minutes. I hope they book it. Alphys' lab is hard as _hell_ to access."

"He's in the lab!" Undyne shouted, jumping to her feet.

"Tick tock," whispered the Starlight Killer before the audio feed was abruptly cut off.


	6. Part 1: Chapter 6

The hurried trek back to the lab felt agonizingly longer than it actually was. Every single step was like another tick of the clock as it counted down the precious time left before Papyrus would be travelling via explosion… to a place they wouldn't be able to find him. At every possible chance, they took shortcut after shortcut, hoping that the time shaved off would be enough.

Thankfully, the outside door remained unmoved, having been wrenched open by Undyne as they left earlier. When they all piled into the room, they looked around.

"he's not here," said Sans.

"Th-They've probably got him in the lab," said Alphys, panting. "I-It's this way; come on!" She hurried to the door and tried to wrench it open. "D-damn it."

"Move over." Undyne shoved the smaller monster out of the way as she and Asgore worked together to pry the door open.

"Elevator's broken, b-but I think we can get in." Alphys paused to think about this for a moment. "All right, Toriel, d-do you think you can climb down the shaft? It t-takes a lot of upper body strength..."

"Yes." Toriel replied. "I believe I can."

"Good. Undyne, you first. Then Toriel with S-Sans on her back... and Asgore, w-will you carry me?" She went a bit pink as she asked.

Asgore nodded. "Of course I will."

Undyne charged, leapt into the elevator shaft, and grabbed the cables, wasting no time in descending. Sans climbed onto Toriel's back and she followed, descending much more slowly than the fishwoman. Gently, Asgore hoisted Alphys onto his back, and with them entering the shaft, the five them descended the dank, dark elevator. The tiny flashlight attached to Undyne's belt was the only light they had, and that was moving farther from the pack with every passing second.

The dichotomy between the climbing styles of Undyne and the boss monsters was exceptionally clear. Whereas Toriel and Asgore were doing their best to descend gently, Undyne was shaking the cables with every grip. It got to be so bad a few times that Toriel urged her to slow down. She did, but only temporarily, as the thought of the timer served as a whip driving her forward.

As they reached the last several feet, Undyne let go and free fell before landing catlike on top of the broken elevator. She winced a bit, but pushed onward, breaking open the door on the elevator's roof and swinging inside, only to find that the doors were closed. Prying open the doors once more-which proved to be even more formidable than the other doors had been-she burst out into the main section of the True Lab.

It was dark, musty, and all kinds of unpleasant. Undyne covered her nostrils as she yanked her flashlight off her belt, looking around for a sign of anything suspicious. After five minutes of running around to no avail, she soon heard the sounds of the others emerging from the broken elevator.

She ran over to them, screeching to a halt. "Alphys, I can't find anything. Do you have any ideas?"

"Split up." Alphys said. "You and me go left, Toriel, Sans, and Asgore go right. Asgore and I are the only ones who know anything about this place's layout."

"I'm glad somebody knows; this place has too many doors!"

The five split up as proposed, the left group checking out the various exam rooms to the left, and the right group, once Asgore had pried open the door guarding it, exploring the right side.

"Nothing!" Undyne shouted, kicking one of the exam tables in frustration. "We might as well go join the others; this is all that's here, right?"

Alphys nodded. "Y-Yeah, it'd probably be best to-"

"FOUND HIM!" Asgore panted, running through the door. "We found him in the room with the yellow lock!"

Alphys' hands flew to her mouth. "The VCR room?"

"Yes, hurry!" Asgore picked up Alphys and would've picked up Undyne too, had she not already been out the door faster than an ice cube melting in lava.

All obstacles along the way were disregarded; Undyne jumped over the beds that were in the main sleeping room behind the right door, and Asgore, as though they were pillows, effortlessly thrust them out of his way.

Undyne wasn't really sure which way she was going; all she could do was follow the sound of familiar voices and the sickening sound of electronic blips passing at one second intervals. When they were their loudest, Undyne turned a corner and entered the aforementioned room.

The sight just about killed her. There sat Papyrus, in the worst state of panic she'd ever seen him; sweating, shaking, just… so helpless. Toriel was trying in vain to calm him, and Sans knelt at his side, furiously examining the paper in his hands.

"UNDYNE!" the taller skeleton screamed.

Undyne ran for him. "PAPYRUS!" She quickly got around to the back of his chair, looking for a way to untie the bomb from him.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Papyrus cried. "IF I MOVE TOO MUCH, THIS IS GOING TO GO OFF!"

She backed off, the earlier conversation between Papyrus and the Starlight Killer replaying in her mind.

"we've got two minutes." Sans informed her. "and apparently we need to work together on this clue."

Asgore rushed in, setting Alphys on the ground. The two of them looked around expectantly at the others.

"Well, what is it?" Undyne demanded.

Sans pointed to the paper as he spoke. "a combination lock. six numbers. six clues."

"Wh-What are they?" Alphys asked, leaning in closer

_Number of times you rewrote your very first letter draft to Alphys._

_You once told someone online that Papyrus acted like a child. What age did you give as an example?_

_Just how many children did you gut with that big red trident of yours?_

_How many years did you imprison the child most reluctant to stay with you?_

_How old was Papyrus the time you made him cry by telling him you hated him?_

_How many nights did you wait outside Undyne's house gathering the courage to ask to join the Royal Guard?_

"Who's it for?" Undyne asked, blushing and trying to feign ignorance as to the first question.

But it didn't take long for them all to realize that each and every one of these questions had been specifically tailor-made for each of them, just as the earlier clues had.

Undyne shrugged and rushed for the combination lock. "The first number is seven."

Alphys' eyes nearly popped through her glasses. "SEVEN?"

"Look, just get the next number in; who's number two?" Undyne punched in the number 7 and looked at the group as the keypad beeped in acceptance.

"Omigod, Papyrus I…" Alphys looked close to tears. "I-I didn't know you then and you p-posted all those bicep pictures; I'm sorry!"

" _What's the number_?"

"Five." Alphys mumbled. "It was five."

Another beep for the second number.

"I believe the next clue is mine..." Asgore mumbled, his eyes cast to the floor. "And the answer is two."

Another beep.

"My clue is next and… three." Toriel stated.

 _Beep_.

"i, uhh... " Sans gulped. "four."

 _Beep_.

"So… there's a sixth clue." Undyne looked up at Papyrus. "And I think it's yours."

Papyrus began sweating even more. He opened his mouth, and with much effort, finally said "...EIGHT."

_BEE-BEE-BEEP._

The bomb's casing opened to reveal a smaller metal box with another timer on it, this time only reading 30 seconds. A small note accompanied it: SAY GOODBYE.

"WHAT?" Undyne barked. "H-how do we disarm it? Alphys?"

Alphys quickly looked it over. "I-I think that kind of metal needs a special tool to cut through!"

"We've only got 25 seconds!" Undyne shouted.

"There is no time." Toriel shook her head.

"THEN PLEASE SAVE YOURSELVES, DON'T DIE FOR ME!"

Undyne looked at Papyrus like he'd lost his mind. "No, I'm not leaving you here."

"me neither," said Sans.

"NO, PLEASE GO, YOU'LL DIE!"

Alphys cringed. "20 seconds."

Undyne stepped forward, wrapping her arms around her fiancé. "I said I'm not leaving you."

"BUT UNDYNE-"

"DAMMIT, PAPYRUS, I _LOVE_ YOU! I'M NOT LEAVING!" She tightened her grip, holding him closer.

Papyrus closed his eye sockets as a tear slipped down his cheek.

"...i said i wasn't leaving either," said Sans, walking over and throwing his arms around Papyrus from the back.

Toriel joined them, surrounding Sans in her hug for Papyrus. "We are here for you."

"Y-Yeah, if we're g-going, we're going tog-g-gether." Alphys was only able to wrap her little arms around Papyrus and Undyne.

Asgore knelt before Papyrus, looking him directly in the eye. "We cannot let you go through this alone."

By this point, Papyrus was utterly tearful. "WOWIE…"

The timer clicked down the final 5 seconds… four, three, two...

Undyne leaned in and whispered to Papyrus "... _I love you_."

 _One_.

 _BEEP_.

"...Thank you for giving me just enough time to make my getaway. Hope you enjoyed this experience as much as I did. See you later."

Seconds after the electronic voice had ceased, the entire room was completely quiet.

Until a thunderous boom of a laugh broke the silence moments later. Toriel had burst into almost hysterical giggles.

Slowly, she was joined by Sans, Alphys, Asgore… and finally, Undyne and Papyrus. They each let go, laughing until their sides ached and tears were streaming down their faces.

"I-HA-I c-can't believe that just ha-happened!" Alphys wheezed.

"W-WELL, THIS IS ALL FINE AND GOOD," Papyrus chortled, attempting to wipe his face on his sleeve, "BUT CAN YOU UNTIE ME NOW?"

They all broke out into a fresh wave of laughter, with Undyne sitting up and ripping apart the tape that was holding Papyrus to the chair and attaching him to the fake bomb. That done, she pulled him close in a tight hug, even closer than she could have with the decoy in the way. But as they hugged, their laughter gave way to heavy sobbing and tears. The rest of the room quieted down as they watched the two of them cry out the stress of the past 24 hours. The mood in the room shifted to one of sympathy; seeing Undyne, as adept as she usually was at hiding emotions she deemed "weak," sobbing as hard as the overemotional Papyrus, they could barely begin to imagine what she must have been going through.

"...I do believe we should give them some privacy," Toriel remarked as she stood up.

Sans appeared reluctant to leave his brother alone, even for a few minutes, but he stood up and followed Toriel out of the room. Asgore and Alphys exited behind them.

The sobbing continued for a little while afterwards, when it seemed like a good deal of their stress-based energy had been depleted. Papyrus looked Undyne in the eye, smiling softly. "...YOU CAME. YOU REALLY CAME…"

"Well, duh…" Undyne said, hiccuping once or twice. "Of course I did. You needed me; how could I _not_ come get you?"

"BUT HE… HE SAID YOU GAVE UP."

Undyne scoffed. "Guy's a lying-" She caught herself. "-Uh… stupidhead."

Papyrus shook his head. "WOWIE, HE MUST BE PRETTY BAD FOR YOU TO USE SUCH STRONG LANGUAGE!"

She laughed. "Haha, yeah, the worst…" She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Seriously, though, he was _really_ doing his hardest to mess with you. I… heard it."

"YOU HEARD WHAT?"

"Just… all of the horrible things he said to you. He had us parked in your old room, and there was a speaker there. I hate that he lied to you like that. But I want you to know that _none_ of that was true. We all care about you, Papyrus. And, most of all…"

She leaned in and gave him a tender kiss on the cheek. "... _I love you._ "

Papyrus blushed. "...WOWIE…" He rested his forehead against Undyne's. "I LOVE YOU TOO, UNDYNE."

She gently tightened up their hug, and the two of them sat together like that for the next several minutes, not wanting to let the other go.

Down the hallway, an entirely different scene was playing out. Sans and Toriel were huddled together, Toriel holding Sans, and Sans reassuring himself that yes, Papyrus was going to be all right. "he's fine, he's okay…" the small skeleton whispered to himself over and over again, a single tear rolling down his cheek. Toriel rocked gently back and forth, humming softly.

Alphys and Asgore stood nearby, relieved that things hadn't turned out as badly as they seemed they were going to a few minutes ago. Alphys fidgeted nervously, feeling a trickle of sweat slowly fall down her face. Finally, she took a deep breath and turned to Asgore.

"Asgore, I really like you and I think we'd be great together," she blurted out, her face reddening.

"I'm sorry?" Asgore said, staring at her with wide eyes.

"I, uhh… I really like you. I've l-liked you for a while. H-had a crush on you for y-years, actually."

Asgore's expression remained constant. "Why Alphys, I… it is unlike you to be so bold."

She rubbed the back of her head. "W-well we did almost just die. Err, I mean we _thought_ we were going to… it kind of gives you a perspective on all the risks you never thought you were brave enough to take, you know?"

"I do not know what to say."

"Well…" she turned a little pinker. "...Y-You could say yes."

"Yes to… what?"

"What? Oh! Heheheh… will you g-go out on a date? With me? Sometime? Maybe soon?"

Asgore's lips melted into a very warm smile. "It would be my pleasure."

Alphys could've sworn the whole world had just come to a grinding halt. " _R-really_?"

"Of course." Asgore chuckled.

"...I-I think I'm gonna swoon… c-could you catch me?" Alphys winked at him.

"I will do better than that." Asgore reached down, picked up the little dinosaur, and spun her around.

"Asgore, wh-what are you doing?" Alphys giggled.

"Celebrating. It has been a long day and night and I am very tired so therefore, I am a bit giddy that it is over." Asgore hugged her tightly and put her down just in time for Undyne and Papyrus to walk out, hands tightly clasped.

Sans, seeing his brother freed from the chair, carefully got out of Toriel's lap and _bolted_ for his brother, almost knocking him over with a flying leap. Undyne had to let go of Papyrus' hand so his arm wouldn't have been yanked off from the force. He said nothing, but it was clear from the hug how he was feeling.

Everyone else smiled, joining the two of them for a proper group hug this time, one free from imposed time limits and death threats. If they could've seen it, it would've made them even happier to see how big Papyrus was smiling, the seeds of doubt in his soul uprooted by the true love of his friends.

After a while, they broke up the hug, a few of them chuckling over the whole incident, still trying to work off a little residual stress. A few moments later, after everyone had settled down, Alphys spoke up.

"S-So… are we climbing up out of here, oooor…?"

Papyrus looked surprised. "CLIMBING?"

"Uh, yeah," Undyne said, scratching the back of her head. "We kind of had to lower ourselves down here with the elevator cables because there's no power to the lab."

"THAT'S ODD… AFTER THE KIDNAPPER LEFT, I COULD'VE SWORN I HEARD SOME KIND OF ELECTRIC BUZZING."

Alphys looked up at him, surprised. "A-Are you sure? Wh-Where was it coming from?"

He shrugged. "I'M AFRAID I DO NOT REMEMBER. BUT, I AM FAIRLY CERTAIN… THAT IF WE SEARCH THE AREA, WE WILL DEFINITELY FIND IT!"

Undyne chuckled; her fiancé seemed to be getting a bit of his familiar spark back.

Upon searching the area further, they discovered that there was indeed a switch that the Starlight Killer had been using to easily go to and from the lab. They found it already activated, so they rode the elevator back, all the way to the top, relieved to be out of such a melancholy place. But something was odd.

"Right to the Throne Room," Undyne sighed. "How convenient."

Alphys frowned. "Convenient that he l-left the elevators on to give us a shortcut. I d-don't like it."

"I don't either." Undyne sighed. "At this point, I don't care. We got Papyrus back. That's what we came for."

The sunrise painted the cave floor outside the Throne Room a brilliant yellow as the group headed back towards the cave exit. They were about to step outside when Alphys stopped, tugging on Asgore's sleeve. He in turn also paused, looking at whatever seemed to have caught her attention.

"Hold up," he said to everyone. "You all need to see this."

The rest of them came back to what was a message quickly scribbled on the cave wall in bright, glowing letters that shined brightly even with the sunlight on the floor.

_YOU'LL STAY AWAY FROM THE POLICE FORCE IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE._

_THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING._

_HAVE A NICE WEDDING._

Undyne instinctively grabbed Papyrus' hand, giving it a firm but tender squeeze. She wasn't sure what they were going to do about the message at the moment, but if anything, it was important to keep on the back-burner. She took her phone out and was about to take a picture, but realized the battery was completely dead this time.

Alphys noticed what Undyne was doing and took out her own phone, taking a picture of the writing. "Ah, d-don't worry; I've g-got this."

They all stepped out of the cave, shielding their eyes from the sun's piercing light. Before heading back to Undyne's cruiser, they decided to stop and take a look out over the beautiful view that the land was offering them.

"...IT'S FUNNY," Papyrus said. "THIS IS REMINDING ME OF WHEN WE ALL LEFT THE UNDERGROUND A FEW YEARS AGO… FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME."

Undyne smiled. "Aww, yeah?"

"AND I WAS ALSO THINKING…" Tears started running down his cheeks. "ABOUT HOW HAPPY I AM TO SEE IT WITH YOU ALL AGAIN! I THOUGHT I NEVER WOULD!"

"Aww, come here, Papyrus…" Adding to the already large number of hugs he'd gotten that morning, Undyne pulled him close for another tender embrace.

After giving them a few moments, Sans spoke up. "i hate to break up a tender moment, but i'm kinda hungry, so…" He motioned back down the path to the cruiser.

"Ah, right," Undyne said. She rubbed her fiancé's back as they walked back to their transportation. "Anyone else hungry?"

"Very much so," said Toriel.

At the very least, the trip back down the path was easier than the trek up… and with little good quality sleep and empty stomachs, that was just the kind of walk that they all needed, something easy.

When they reached the bottom, Undyne opened the door for Papyrus to get inside her SUV. She then opened the others for Toriel, Asgore, Alphys, and Sans. But as the others were climbing in, Sans pulled her aside.

"i, uh, wanted to apologize." He rubbed the back of his head.

Undyne's eyebrows rose. "You do?"

"yeah. it's no secret that, throughout this whole ordeal, i treated you horribly. and... well, i guess the only reason i blamed this whole thing on you was because you were right there and the most involved with papyrus. it wasn't fair to you at all. so… i'm sorry." He shuffled his feet a bit. "even if i don't say it, i'm actually really happy to be getting you as a sister-in-law. you really are everything papyrus needs." Sans looked up at her. "anyway, thanks for hearing me out." He turned to climb inside.

"Sans, wait," Undyne said.

The small skeleton was a little confused, but this soon gave way to surprise as Undyne gave him a tight hug.

"I forgive you, Sans."

"...okay but is the hug really necessary?"

Undyne gave him a serious look. "Yes."

He shrugged. "heh, fine."

Sans climbed back into car, situating himself on Toriel's lap. Asgore sat on the other side of the backseat, with Alphys happily sitting in the middle. And Papyrus was up front, waiting for Undyne to get in. As soon as she did and started the cruiser, he took her hand, smiling. She smiled and nodded, and with that, they were on their way back to the city, three hours away.


	7. Part 1: Chapter 7

It was about fifteen minutes later when Undyne's SUV cruiser pulled into the parking lot of a small, picturesque diner nestled into the Appalachian mountains. They didn't want to walk anymore but it was just a small price to pay for the breakfast that awaited them inside. It being not too long after the crack of dawn, there weren't many customers, but that was how they liked it.

"We want a booth as far away from the rest of the diners as possible, if you can." Undyne specified to the hostess.

She nodded and grabbed a handful of menus. "Can do; right this way, please!" She led them to the large, round booth off in the corner of the restaurant. It was nicely decorated in a simple country style and there was plenty of space for them all to slide in.

"Can I start you off with something to drink?" asked a nearby waitress, getting out a small pad of paper.

"Coffee," said five voices in unison (and one "HOT CHOCOLATE" from Papyrus).

"Make sure this guy gets extra whipped cream," Sans told her, patting his brother's shoulder.

"Why, Sans," Toriel said as the waitress walked away, "how very… _sweet_ of you."

Sans snorted, Alphys, Asgore, and Undyne groaned, and Papyrus half smiled, probably because it was the first genuine smile on Sans' face in the last day and night.

"So are you okay?" Undyne rubbed Papyrus' back. "I know all this happened so fast; you sure you're all right?"

Papyrus was silent for a moment, then turned to look at her. "...IS IT ALL RIGHT IF THE ANSWER RIGHT NOW IS 'I DON'T KNOW'?"

"Of course." Undyne reached down and took his hand. "Take all the time you need."

He nodded thoughtfully. "IF I MAY ASK… WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I WAS GONE? WHY DID IT TAKE YOU SO LONG TO REACH ME?"

"Well," Undyne began. "It's a long story… Whoever took you made it a point to be a huge… uh, jerk, by leaving us clues on some kind of wild goose chase." As she and the others continued to tell Papyrus the story of their anxiety-riddled "scavenger hunt", his eye sockets became wider and wider. He couldn't hold back the tears when they reached the part about his old home, and by the time their food arrived and the story was nearing its conclusion, it was as though he had twin waterfalls cascading down his face.

"Y-YOU DID ALL THAT J-JUST FOR ME?" Papyrus asked, wiping his eyes with his napkin. "ALL OF YOU?"

"Of course," said Toriel.

"come on, bro; we weren't gonna just leave you out there." Sans took a sip of his coffee. "we agonized over it for every minute of those twelve hours he made us wait in your room."

"YOU HEARD EVERYTHING?" Papyrus sniffed.

"He made us listen," Undyne said, her face scrunched up in a pained expression. "Hearing all that and knowing that there was literally nothing I could do to help you at that moment… that was the worst night of my entire life." Papyrus let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulder. "Oh, it's fine."

"NO, YOU NEED HUGS TOO." Papyrus pulled her in close and she rested her head on his still padded shoulder. "I'M SO SORRY I PUT YOU ALL THROUGH THAT."

Undyne shook her head lightly. "Aw, Papyrus, no, it wasn't your fault. None of this is. It's that… Starlight Killer."

Everyone stiffened slightly. "Who d-do you think it is?" asked Alphys.

"No idea. But after this whole crazy mess, I know one thing for sure." Undyne sighed. "It definitely wasn't a human."

Silence.

"I agree." Asgore said after a few seconds. "No human could possibly have known so much about us. Even Frisk could not have known the answers to many of those riddles and clues."

"Or to the ins and outs of how the Underground is constructed," Undyne muttered. "Maybe it's-"

"Undyne," Alphys interrupted. "I-I'm gonna go ahead and g-guess that you're thinking M-Mettaton. I-I know you don't like him, b-but he's the last person possible who could've done this. B-Besides, he's in Rio right now."

"I wasn't seriously thinking it but… you're right. Couldn't have been him. He's annoying but harmless."

"AND HE LOVES HIS FANS. HE WOULDN'T KIDNAP ONE."

"And you're right."

"But then who did you think it was?" Alphys adjusted her glasses.

Undyne exhaled. "...I… I really don't know at this point."

"Asriel had an ability pertaining to stars." Toriel said softly. "Perhaps someone else with a similar ability?"

"In that case, it looks like I'm gonna have to run a database search of the area's registered monsters. It's a lot of legwork, but I'm willing to give that a shot. Don't know why we didn't start there in the first place, actually…"

"Cross reference everyone who was in the area at the time." Toriel suggested. "Although, I imagine that would take a long time."

Undyne clenched her fists. "However long it takes, it _has_ to get done. Lives are at stake. I'm gonna see this through and get that guy, no matter what."

"PLEASE DON'T PUT YOURSELF IN DANGER ON MY ACCOUNT." Papyrus said, a twinge of anxiety in his voice. "I JUST GOT YOU BACK. I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU AGAIN."

"Same here, Papyrus… but that's why I've gotta find this creep. So it _doesn't_ happen again, not to us, and not to anyone else." She grabbed his right hand and gave it a squeeze.

"So… are you g-going to quit the police?" Alphys asked.

The fishwoman shook her head. "Are you kidding me? If anything, this dude has shown himself to be a threat. I _have_ to get him. Even if it wasn't for the sake of the city, at the very least, it's _personal_ now." She grabbed her coffee cup and chugged the rest of its contents. "Much like how I used to set our kitchen on fire, this dude's lit a fire under me. Only way to put it out is by bringing him to justice."

After they'd finished their breakfasts and several more cups of coffee (and a few of hot chocolate), they hit the road for the rest of the nearly three hour drive back to the city. There was a feeling of sweet relief when Undyne pulled into her driveway and realized they were on the way back to a sense of normalcy in their lives.

...Except the living room was disheveled and covered in bones. Papyrus blushed. "I, UH, I'M SORRY ABOUT THE MESS…"

"Nah, don't worry about it." Undyne gave him a quick squeeze of a hug. "You were only doing what you could. Anyway, I gotta call the station to let them know that you're back."

It might've been the energy given to them by the coffee, but Toriel, Sans, Asgore, and Alphys all started cleaning up the room pretty quickly, assisted by "THE GREAT PAPYRUS", as he'd started chiming when they asked him to do something. Undyne smiled every time she heard him say it; it seemed that he was starting to ease back into his old self once more.

"Chief Barkley speaking," came the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Chief, it's Asgoreman. We got Papyrus back home safe and sound..."

As soon as the room was cleaned, Sans began rearranging the couch cushions.

Toriel looked rather surprised. "What are you doing?"

"well…" he said. "we're all gonna have to sleep soon, and i was thinking, hey, after being left alone for so long, papyrus probably doesn't want to spend time sleeping all by himself. so i'm making a fort. wanna help, tori?"

Toriel smiled at this prospect and grabbed some blankets from a nearby closet. Papyrus looked deeply touched.

"YOU ALWAYS KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I NEED, SANS." he said, thankfully not tearful this time.

Undyne- just off the phone and, according to Barkley, given the day off- Alphys, and Asgore joined them in covering the whole room in every blanket they could find. The fort was truly glorious. Even Sans had never seen such a magnificent example of fabric-based craftsmanship, and he knew his forts.

Alphys yawned. "W-Well, either that was weak coffee, o-or I'm just so tired after this whole thing all it could do was give me enough e-energy for the fort. I-Is anyone else ready for a nap?"

"don't have to ask me twice," Sans said, walking out to a pile of pillows and dropping down on it. He was out almost immediately.

Toriel giggled. "I do believe it is a marvelous suggestion. May we all have pleasant dreams." She found a spot close to Sans and made herself comfortable.

After Alphys and Asgore had found their respective spots, Undyne grabbed Papyrus' hand and led him out to the center of it all, in the middle of all four's spots. "I say we cuddle; goodness knows I could use that right about now."

Papyrus smiled and threw his arms around Undyne, holding her close. "I'D LOVE TO, UNDYNE."

The two of them got comfy, Undyne propped up against a pillow with her arms around Papyrus, and Papyrus with his arms around her, his head on her chest. They held each other close, and were about to fall asleep when Undyne asked, "...You really waited outside my house eight times before you approached me?"

The skeleton blushed. "I JUST COULDN'T FIND THE COURAGE-OR THE RIGHT WORDS FOR THAT MATTER-UNTIL THAT POINT. IT'S… PRETTY EMBARRASSING."

Undyne smiled. "Are you kidding me? That's some grade-A perseverance right there. You kept going when I'm sure so many other monsters would've quit. And we may not have even become friends had you not done that. We wouldn't have even dated."

"WELL THEN, I THINK IT MIGHT BE THE BEST DECISION I EVER MADE."

"Yep. And do you want to know the best decision _I_ ever made?"

"WHAT?"

Undyne kissed him and held him closer.

"WOWIE…" Contented, Papyrus drifted off to sleep with the sweetest smile on his face.

The sight of her fiancé so at peace melted Undyne's heart. She knew with the workload ahead of her to catch the Starlight Killer, things were only going to be uphill from there. But for now, this moment of bliss was more than she ever could've wanted.

* * *

**Two Months Later**

* * *

All eyes watched in awe as Toriel entered the ballroom, a sizable tiered cake on the cart she was pushing. She brought it up to the table and carefully put it in the center for all to see.

"I hope you enjoy this cake I have made," she said, turning to the bride and groom. "It is a Bananas Foster cake."

Papyrus was amazed. "WOWIE, IT LOOKS AMAZING! THE FROSTING EVEN LOOKS LIKE SPAGHETTI! THANK YOU, TORIEL!"

Undyne smiled. "Yeah, thank you, Toriel." But her eye absolutely lit up when Toriel pulled a large pan and a blowtorch out from a lower, unseen tier of the cart.

She placed a small portable cooktop on a nearby table that had plenty of clearance, placed the frying pan on it, and turned back to Undyne. "I picked Bananas Foster because I knew it would be something you'd like." She held the blowtorch out towards her. "Will you do the honors?"

The bride nearly fell out of her chair. "OH MY GOD YES! YES I WILL!" She scrambled out from behind the table, dashed on over to where Toriel was, and-

_FWOOOOSH_

The entire pan lit up in bright orange and blue flames, illuminating the gleeful grin on Undyne's face. Toriel worked with the pan until the flames had gone out and they had a delicious sauce of bananas, walnuts, and rum to put over the cake.

"If you would like, you may cut the cake now," Toriel said, motioning to the tower of pastry.

Papyrus stood up and was shortly joined by Undyne. Together, they grabbed the knife and sliced through a little section, both taking some cake from it. Carefully and gently, Papyrus was about to feed Undyne her cake, when she playfully mushed it all over his face. Papyrus, seeing that decorum had been broken, promptly mushed the piece he was about to feed her into her face.

"Ahh, _that's_ the spirit, Papyrus! FUHUHUHUHU!" She grabbed him and pulled him close for a smooch.

Everyone applauded. After Undyne and Papyrus came back from taking care of their sticky faces, the rest cake was sliced, drizzled with the previously-torched banana nut sauce, and passed out to everyone.

Seeing this as the perfect opportunity, the bride and groom took their cake and slipped out of the ballroom, hoping to get a moment to themselves.

Undyne was moved. "Maaaaaan, that was so sweet of Toriel, letting me torch the sauce like that!"

"Y'KNOW, I HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU ABOUT THAT." Papyrus said, winking at his new wife. "HOW COME YOU DIDN'T GET THAT EXCITED WHEN ASGORE PRONOUNCED US HUSBAND AND WIFE?"

"That was planned. This was a surprise. Besides…" she put an arm around him. "I had that same reaction when you popped the question."

"AH YES, I REMEMBER." Papyrus nudged her shoulder. "YOU KNOCKED ME OVER."

Undyne chuckled sheepishly. "I said I was sorry; you just got me too excited."

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO APOLOGIZE FOR THAT."

"Sometimes I feel like I do." Undyne took her arm off of Papyrus and shifted her weight. "Have you ever thought that maybe… I dunno. Forget I said anything."

"MAYBE WHAT?"

She looked uncomfortable. "Maybe being with me is more trouble than it's worth." Her eye cast downward, she sighed. "I mean we're married so it's kinda too late to go back now."

"THAT'S CRAZY TALK, UNDYNE."

"Is it?"

He nodded. "WE'VE HAD THIS DISCUSSION A THOUSAND TIMES. AND, IF NECESSARY, WE'LL HAVE IT A THOUSAND MORE."

"...Man, how did I ever get so lucky?"

"I'M THE LUCKY ONE."

She chuckled and, wrapping her arm around him once more, pulled him in for a kiss. The two sat in silence for a while.

Until Undyne spoke up. "I'm… still scared what happened 2 months ago will happen again. And I do _not_ scare easy."

"I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT THAT."

"It's okay if you are."

Papyrus looked thoughtful for a moment. "YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY THAT DOESN'T SCARE ME?"

"Why not?"

The skeleton rested his head on her shoulder, looking up at her. "BECAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE ALWAYS GOING TO COME GET ME."

Undyne turned a serious shade of plum. "Dang it, Papyrus, stop making me love you so much!"

"BUT WE JUST GOT MARRIED!"

"Then _keep_ making me love you so much!" She put her cake plate down, grabbed her husband by the waist, and stood up, noogie-ing him affectionately.

"OH NO, NOOGIES?" Papyrus yelped, laughing as he stumbled to his feet.

"Yep! And a marriage suplex for good measure!" She hoisted him up from behind, falling backwards towards the ground.

One of the staff members who happened to be walking by witnessed this event, but didn't dare speak of it to anyone. When Undyne had helped him up, Papyrus turned around to face her, his cheekbones tinged red. "DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD GO BACK TO THE RECEPTION?"

"Hmm, one more thing."

"IT'S NOT ANOTHER NOOGIE, IS IT?" he asked, sweat flying.

In one swift motion, Undyne grabbed him, dipped him, and gave him a sweet, tender kiss. "I love you, Papyrus." She gently pulled him back up, and the two stood there, hands on each other's hips, foreheads gently touching.

"...I LOVE YOU TOO, UNDYNE."

The beautiful moment they'd found themselves in lasted for a little longer, until Undyne asked "How about we head back inside now? They're probably driving themselves crazy wondering where we are."

"ALL RIGHTY!"

Undyne and Papyrus picked up their cake plates, linked arms, and strolled back inside the building together, ready to continue a night centered around celebrating their love.


	8. Part 2: Chapter 1

"...SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN HOME BY NOW..."

The frazzled skeleton sat at the kitchen table, boring holes into the clock with his eyesockets. They'd been lucky enough to make it past their wedding, what with the threats from Papyrus' kidnapper leaving them in an uncertain lurch. It was a happy event, if only slightly marred by the undercurrent of anxiety about the threats leveled against them. As soon as the honeymoon was over, however, Undyne immediately got back to work. She vowed that this monster, this serial killer, would be brought to justice, no matter the cost. But given the very real threat all of them, especially Undyne, possibly losing her life while Papyrus was held hostage, the skeleton wished that she wouldn't have said that.

A few moments later, the front lock clicked open and Undyne walked through the door, bedraggled. She dropped her things near the front door, shuffling over to the kitchen table, where she sat down, elbows on the table, hands rubbing her temples.

"UNDYNE!" Papyrus said. "SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU BACK HOME! HOW WAS YOUR DAY?" He went about tidying up her pile of discarded belongings as he waited.

"A nightmare..." she growled. "I'm still not sure if we've got any leads on this ba-" She would've finished her sentence but Papyrus had quickly made his way over and was now massaging her shoulders. The fishwoman let her arms drop to her sides as she leaned back in the chair. "Mmmmman... that feels good, Papyrus, thanks."

"MY PLEASURE," he chirped as he kneaded her shoulders.

"He claimed another victim today. Really old guy. Still have no idea who did it. Just a bunch of possible threads of information." Undyne said, lying against the chair with her eye close and mouth slightly agape. "Keep doing that. Don't ever stop."

"ROGER." replied Papyrus, digging his thumbs into her back just the way she liked it.

"How was your day?" Undyne asked through a sigh.

"WELL," he began. "ON THE WHOLE, IT WAS ALL RIGHT. WE WERE TRYING OUT A NEW ANGEL HAIR DISH TODAY; LOTS OF PEOPLE STOPPED AT THE TRUCK. WE EVEN GOT A LOT OF GOOD CRITIQUES ON HOW TO IMPROVE IT. BUT… I DO MISS HAVING YOU HOME AT THE USUAL TIME."

Undyne, staring up at him upside-down, gave him a sympathetic look. "Yeah, it kills me too that I can't spend as much time with you. But if anything, the extra hours are helping. We think we've got a new lead."

"REALLY? THAT'S WONDERFUL. AND KIND OF A RELIEF."

"Well don't breathe too easy, we're not sure." With a contented sigh, she slipped down in her chair a bit, only to snap awake a little. "Ugh… man, I'm exhausted. Gonna call it a night here; thank you so much for the massage, I really needed that." She stood up, held his hands, and gave him a gentle kiss. "Are you going to sleep tonight?"

Papyrus shuffled nervously. "W-WELL, I'M NOT SURE…"

She shrugged. "We could at least cuddle, if you want..."

It had not been an easy first few weeks of marriage. In fact, it hadn't been an easy few months. Ever since the kidnapping, any sleep Papyrus _did_ have was plagued with nightmares. Undyne was doing her best to help him, mostly by cuddling if he woke up in the middle of the night. She'd hold his shaking bones close, gently stroking his skull until the sound of her heartbeat lulled him to sleep once more. But Papyrus had taken to forgoing sleep for days at a time before crashing in the middle of the day and waking up with still more nightmares.

And these nightmares had caused problems during the daylight hours as well. On a day where Undyne needed to get into the house earlier than her usual arrival time, she found that all of the windows and doors had been triple locked, bolted, and chained to prevent any and all entry. When Papyrus finally woke up and let her in, he sheepishly explained that he had no memory of it. Undyne just pulled him close into a warm, understanding hug; knowing him for as long as she had, she knew it was what he really needed at that moment.

"OKAY," Papyrus replied after a long silence. "WE CAN CUDDLE. AND THEN MAYBE I CAN SLEEP."

Undyne smiled, rubbing his back. The two of them left the kitchen and ascended the stairs, hoping to have some luck with Papyrus and his lack of pleasant dreams.

* * *

"Ugh, I swear we're not getting anywhere with the leads we've been following..." Undyne groaned, rubbing her scalp in frustration. The latest had been a bust, too.

Chief Barkley shrugged. "We're doing the best we can; unfortunately nobody even knows what this Starlight Killer looks like. For all we know it could be somebody's irritating Pomeranian."

A deadpan stare in his direction. "...Unlikely."

"Well, we've sent another group out to get a good look at the..." The chief paused to look at a text he'd just received. "Nope, doesn't seem like they've got anything from this lead, either. Unless you want to count rogue onions in with the other insane theories."

Undyne slammed her fists down on the desk. A few moments went by before she cleared her throat stood back up, and nodded at him. "Sorry."

"Trust me, I'd be doing the same thing."

She sighed, placing her hands on the desk and leaning over the paperwork spread out before her. Here and there were little bits and pieces of information that may or may not have had any relevancy to the case. Did they all fit together? It would take some kind of odd luck for that to be the case. Just a bunch of odds and ends at this point. She slumped back into her chair, leaning back.

"Seventy-five different monsters investigated… and there's still sixty-eight left." She sighed.

"Well, of all hundred and forty-three legally registered monsters."

She quickly whipped around in her chair. "What are the freakin' odds that fifty-two of those monsters would end up living close to my neighborhood? Are they just passing out star powers like monster candy nowadays?"

Barkley shrugged. "Just lucky, I suppose." He paused a moment before turning to a nearby coffee machine. "Do you think you might be a little bit too close to this case, Asgoreman?"

She shook her head. But then she paused, possibly reconsidering her answer. "I, uh…" Sighing, she shrugged. "I honestly don't know. All I know is I want this lowlife off the streets. The fact that he decided to mess with me and Papyrus just makes my passion for putting this sucker away even stronger!"

"That's the problem. You're close to this case. You have a personal vendetta against this guy. I think…" He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Asgoreman but I think it's time to take you off."

She sat bolt upright in her chair. "What?"

"Emotional involvement is dangerous. You need to take a step back. We've got a few other leads we've yet to investigate. And… don't abandon your new husband after everything you did to get him back."

Undyne could feel her blood boiling. His points were good-REALLY good, in the case of spending more time with Papyrus-but it just irritated her to no end that she'd be doing nothing more to advance this case.

"Like I said, I am sorry. But this is for the best. Go home. Tomorrow I'll put your back on patrol." Chief Barkley stood up and walked back to his office, shutting the door behind him.

Undyne clenched her fists and kicked a small trash can, accidentally denting it. Hoping nobody saw that, she quickly picked it up and flattened the dent out with her hands, returning it to its original position. "Back on patrol tomorrow…" she grumbled, opening the door and heading out of the office. "Who knows where that freak is…"

She headed out of the building, pulling her phone out and turning it on. Pulling up Papyrus in her texting contacts, she paused for a moment. Maybe it was bad she was getting pulled off the case, but… like Barkley said, she'd get to spend more time with her husband. That was looking at things a little more positively. Still not the best situation with her off the case, but at least there _was_ a positive.

"Heading home now," she texted. "See you soon."

* * *

Barkley sat down at his desk, rubbing his forehead. Of all the people on the force, Undyne had the most fire and drive to get through the tough tasks that were sometimes set before her. But he was sure he'd made the right decision. She was suffering, he could see that, even if she herself was oblivious to it.

He stared down at the files sitting on his desk. On top of them was a list that Undyne had printed out of all the different monsters in the city with star-related magic. A number of the names were crossed off, all thanks to their-especially Undyne's-efforts. It was a shame to lose that energy.

Standing up, he walked over to the light and was about to exit, when his phone rang. He hurried to the phone, expecting some sort of emergency call.

"Chief Barkley," he answered.

At first there was nothing but silence on the other end.

"...Hello?" he asked.

He soon received an answer.

"I've been thinking, lately," said a feminine-sounding voice. "What _is_ a star, really? You can't possibly ever get close enough to touch it, and common sense dictates that you shouldn't eat it, but, from the right distance with the right tool, you _can_ kill it." He heard a heavy gun cock. "And I see a star out here before me right now."

_**BANG.** _

The color left Barkley's face. He threw the phone down, rushing out of his office and tearing down the hallway and stairs. When he finally made it outside, he was not prepared for the sight that greeted him.

A cracked cell phone sat on the ground, a few feet away from its owner, who lied motionless, a pool of blood starting to spread. Undyne hadn't even seen it coming.

 


	9. Part 2: Chapter 2

Papyrus was anxious.

Undyne had texted him that she was coming home soon nearly half an hour ago. And she still hadn't come home. Papyrus knew that the drive home took between ten and fifteen minutes every single time. And she certainly didn't stop to chat with her fellow officers nowadays. So thirty minutes without a sign of her was certainly suspicious, given how dependable she was most of the time.

"I EVEN GOT SOME TEA READY…" he sighed, taking the kettle off the burner.

Maybe she had stopped to get gas on the way back. Maybe she had stopped to pick up some groceries. Or get something from a fast food place. Or anything. Papyrus didn't like to jump to conclusions. After his kidnapping, he was ready to expect anything. And that anything included a whole range of possibilities. He preferred to consider the positives.

"YES… SHE SHOULD BE HOME ANY MINUTE NOW!"

While he was expecting the door to open, his phone rang instead. It was a number he had never seen before. He hesitated for a moment before answering.

"HELLO?"

"Am I speaking to… Papyrus?" asked a woman's voice on the other end.

"YES," Papyrus replied. "WHO IS CALLING?"

"This is Morgan Sigmund at the Bayside Memorial Hospital. I'm calling on behalf of Undyne Asgoreman, as you are her emergency contact."

"EMERGENCY… WAIT, WHAT'S GOING ON? IS UNDYNE OKAY?"

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. Undyne was shot this evening outside the police station."

"...HOW BAD IS IT?"

"I cannot tell you much right now but she's currently in surgery and I think you should get here as soon as you can. If you check in through the south gate entrance they should let you in immediately… sir?"

Papyrus wasn't listening. Grabbing his keys from the key rack next to the door and pocketing his phone, he was out the door within seconds.

* * *

A soft blue light appeared in a dark room as Sans opened his left eye. He'd thought his phone had run out of batteries and, as per usual, he'd forgotten to plug it into the wall to recharge. But there it sat nearby, buzzing up a storm. Sans reluctantly pulled himself out from under the covers and shuffled over to the low dresser, picking up his phone. "...papyrus?" he muttered as he read the caller ID. * _Bip*_ "papyrus, it's 1 am; what's going o-"

"GET TO THE HOSPITAL NOW!"

Sans jumped. He was used to Papyrus' volume being at 11, but the tone this time was highly unusual. "papyrus, what's wrong?"

"IT'S UNDYNE! SHE'S BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD ON THIS ONE CASE AND I MADE SOME TEA WAITING FOR HER TO GET HOME TONIGHT BUT THEN I GOT THIS CALL AND-"

"whoa, buddy, slow down. breathe, okay? are you… talking while driving? hey, just take a moment to breathe. then tell me what happened."

Papyrus sounded close to tears. "PLEASE COME HERE NOW. AND CALL THE OTHERS. PLEASE?"

"yeah, of course." Sans quickly hung up and hurried to put on some proper clothes.

"What is going on?" Toriel asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes as she watched her frazzled husband get ready to go. "Is something wrong?"

"i don't know the whole story but that was papyrus. he wants us to meet him at the hospital. get dressed; i'll call alphys and asgore," he told her as he ran out the door, still pulling on a shirt.

* * *

"I _told_ you th-that was the best one." Alphys gushed as the end credits rolled on yet another episode of Legend of Korra.

"It was excellent." Asgore agreed. "Although I disagreed with Korra's decision to-"

The Star Wars theme filled the room as Alphys's phone went off. Alphys blushed slightly as she reached for it. "Why is Sans c-calling now?"

"Why is Sans' ringtone the theme from Star Wars?" Asgore asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It'd take a while to explain." Alphys tittered nervously as she answered. "H-Hello?"

"alphys, it's sans. i need you and asgore at the hospital."

"At the hospital, what?" Alphys stood up.

"i don't know all the details, but papyrus is there. we can find out what's going on once we meet up with him."

"S-so he's not the one who's… w-wait a second, is it Undyne? Sans, is Undyne okay?"

"like i said, i don't know the details, but he did say it was about her. just get there as soon as you can, okay?"

"On our way. Asgore's here too, we'll take my car." Alphys suddenly smacked herself on the forehead. "Wait, n-no, we don't fit in my car, it's too small, we'll take his car. Is that ok-"

"just get down here."

"R-Right." Alphys hung up. Any news like this would've been frazzling, but for Alphys, this was her ex-girlfriend-turned-best-friend. Her level of worry was cranked up to 11.

"To answer your question, yes. We can take my car." Asgore got up, brushed crumbled potato chips off his lap, and followed Alphys out the door.

* * *

Sans arrived first at the hospital, only to see Papyrus in the waiting room, being held back by a few orderlies.

"MY WIFE IS IN THERE!" he cried, holding up his left hand so they could see his ring. "PLEASE, YOU HAVE TO LET ME IN! ISN'T THAT THE LAW?"

"Sir, we cannot permit anyone in the OR right now. Your wife is in critical condition."

'I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS BUT SHE NEEDS ME! PLEASE, LET ME HOLD HER HAND OR SOMETHING. I WON'T MAKE THINGS WORSE, I PROMISE."

"papyrus!" Sans bolted over to his brother. "papyrus, i need you to come with me, okay? this is important. undyne's in good hands right now, but i need to discuss some things with you."

"SANS, SHE NEEDS ME."

"papyrus, what undyne needs right now is medical attention. and she's getting that. you can see her later when she's stable." Papyrus stopped struggling and went nearly limp. "c'mon, sit down. take a couple deep breaths."

Papyrus did as Sans suggested, tears starting to stream down his face. "SANS… THE LADY IN THE PHONE CALL… SHE SAID UNDYNE WAS SHOT BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. SHE ALWAYS WEARS A BULLETPROOF VEST, THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN TO HER!"

"well, i'm sorry to say it, but a vest only covers so much. besides, if it was a more powerful type of gun, the vest wouldn't be able to stop it all the way. did she say where undyne was shot?"

"OUTSIDE THE POLICE STATION..." He sniffled.

Sans shook his head. "i meant which part of her was shot."

"N-NO… THAT WAS ALL SHE SAID." Papyrus let Sans lead him to a nearby set of chairs and sat down.

At that moment, Toriel hurried in, walking at a brisk pace that would put fitness buffs to shame. "Papyrus!" she said, leaning in and giving him a warm, sympathetic hug. "Any word?"

"THEY KEEP TELLING ME SHE'S IN CRITICAL CONDITION. I FIGURE IT MEANS THINGS ARE BAD, BUT WHAT EXACTLY DOES IT MEAN?"

"W-Well," said Toriel, clearing her throat. "It means that the doctors are… unsure."

Papyrus' eyebrows creased severely. "OF WHETHER SHE'LL LIVE?"

She looked over toward Sans, raising her eyebrows slightly in a questioning manner. His only response was nodding, which, after an agonized moment or two, Toriel also did. Keeping the truth from Papyrus would only make possible bad news harder to take.

"Yes, Papyrus. They are not sure whether she is going to be okay right now." Toriel told him, her hands on his upper arms.

His eyes widened. He appreciated the honesty, but it shocked him that he received it over something as serious as this. Besides, the truth of the matter was a very heavy one; Undyne was in danger of dying, if she hadn't already. He had no idea how he was going to take it if he lost her. Shaking violently, he began crying once more.

"Oh, Papyrus…" Toriel wrapped her arms around him, rocking back and forth.

Sans, as short as he was, wrapped his arms around Papyrus' legs, hoping that it was doing something to comfort his brother.

Alphys shuffled in through the waiting room doors, Asgore close behind, when she saw the emotional scene in front of her. Wasting no time, she hurried forward and joined the hug. A few seconds later saw them all joined by the former king, who wrapped his massive arms around them all.

* * *

The number of hours the group remained in the waiting room dragged on and blended together, creating a seemingly unending mash of minutes barely even resembling the concept of 'time'. Papyrus felt like he was about to lose it when he heard a voice call him over.

"IS SHE OKAY?" he asked, nearly stumbling over himself in his haste to find out anything he could.

The surgeon nodded. "Yes; she's out of surgery now and is in the recovery room. It'll still be a while until you can see her, but we'll let you know as soon as possible, all right?"

Relief visibly washed over the skeleton's face. "YES. THANK YOU!" He quickly whipped around and ran back.

Sans watched as his brother ran by him to inform inform the rest of the group. Chuckling slightly at seeing him so happy once more, he turned to the doctor, who looked like she'd had more to say. "i take it she's doing fine?"

"It was a rarity, but she's doing well. You normally don't see this kind of a success rate with gunshot wounds, but this doesn't appear to have been caused by a normal bullet, so the circumstances changed."

"...you can tell me how bad it was, doc. papyrus is kinda sensitive, so i'll act like a filter for the information. he does deserve to know something, though."

The doctor adjusted her glasses. "Well, I won't sugarcoat it; the vest she was wearing certainly saved her life, but it could only do so much given the caliber of the magic bullet. Judging from the wound shape, we're guessing it was a pointed projectile. It caused extensive damage and trauma to her shoulder and parts of her thorax. Her vital organs weren't damaged beyond repair, thankfully, but her heart and left lung were most affected. A number of her ribs were broken or cracked; fragmentation was miraculously minimal, but there was extensive bleeding caused by the bone fragments that did scatter. We... almost lost her twice on the table after getting her in here."

Sans closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead; Papyrus didn't need to know that, did he? Well, certainly not now. He'd have to cherry-pick the information.

"But," the doctor continued. "It... felt like she was fighting as hard as she could to hold on, despite the damage. Even when her body was wavering, it was like there was some kind of force pulling her together."

Sans looked up, shock in his eyes. If it was what he thought it was, that would be disastrous.

"We've isolated it as determination. Further research indicates that a monster shouldn't be able to generate it on their own... your friend really is something else."

He was quiet for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "well, sister-in-law... but, is she gonna be okay? i mean, regarding the determination?"

The doctor nodded. "She's been stabilized and the levels dropped as the surgery progressed, likely due to the care she was receiving. We will still monitor her regarding this additional factor, though."

Sans breathed a sigh of relief; he'd spoken with Alphys about many things since they all came to the surface... about astronomy, about her research... this had included her work with determination. She hadn't gone into much detail, but seeing as how badly the fallen down monsters had reacted to it... well, he hoped the same wouldn't happen to Undyne. At the very least, the doctors seemed to know what they were doing, even about this odd complication with monster bodies.

"well, thanks. and thank you so much for all you did; i can't even begin to tell you how grateful we are."

She smiled. "Just doing my job, sir."

"sans," he said, holding his hand out for her to shake it.

She accepted the handshake. "Dr. Latticello."

"nice to meet you. and thanks again." With that, he headed back to rejoin the others.

"SO DID THE DOCTOR SAY WHEN I COULD SEE HER?" Papyrus asked the second Sans was in earshot.

"no, but at least she's out of immediate danger. we can rest easy, now.

"I DON'T THINK I CAN REST EASY UNTIL SHE'S RESTING NEXT TO ME."

Sans nodded, giving his brother a hug. "she will be, bro; she will be. just keep hanging in there."


	10. Part 2: Chapter 3

Papyrus cautiously peeked around the corner, slowly working his way into the ICU room. He tried to steel himself for the sight that awaited him in the first bed, but he wasn't ready. Nothing could have readied him for it. There Undyne lay, unconscious, numerous tubes and wires connected to her and an oxygen mask over her mouth. She was deathly still; aside from the very slight rise and fall of her chest and the languidly spaced beeps from the nearby heart monitor, Papyrus could've sworn that she had, as the monsters put it, "fallen down." She wasn't dead, as that would've meant that her dust would've scattered and settled on the bed and surrounding areas, but falling down was the step just before...

He shuddered at the thought and would've cried out, had he not caught himself; this was a hospital, after all. Twiddling his fingers, he stood near the foot of her bed, unsure of what to do next.

But then he shook his head. This wasn't the time to chicken out, or stand there doing nothing; Undyne needed him! She needed to know that her husband was there! Yes, he thought. But how to do this? There didn't seem like much he could...

Oh. Her hand. Her right hand was unaffected.

Papyrus stepped forward quietly and pulled a nearby chair over to her right. Ever so gently, he reached out and took her hand, softly caressing the top of it with his thumb. He wondered if she was aware at all, if she even felt it. And if not, could she sense the love he was sending her way?

He looked up at the monitor. He didn't understand many of the curves and wavy lines that drifted across the screen, but he knew every beep that echoed from it was another heartbeat from the love of his life... another sign of hope that meant she wasn't about to give up so easily. He found himself longing to rest his head on her chest just for that reassurance, and as another show of affection, but knowing her injured and healing state, he once again restrained himself. He just gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, and leaned in close, actually _whispering_ into her ear. "...I love you, Undyne..."

"...rus..."

The skeleton perked up for a moment, sitting back to look at his bride. Her eye was ever so slightly open, all of its attention directed at him. He felt a strong pull of relief and agony tightening within, tears forming in his eye sockets. "U-UNDYNE..."

The corner of her mouth creased itself up into a little smile. She gave his fingers a small, slow squeeze.

And he gently squeezed back. "UNDYNE... PLEASE DON'T DIE..."

She exhaled a little harsher than she had been, doing her best to scoff at the notion.

Papyrus smiled, the salty drops beginning to slide down his cheeks. "UNDYNE, I'M… REALLY SORRY THAT YOU HAD TO GET INVOLVED IN ALL THIS. IF I THINK ABOUT IT HARD ENOUGH, IT'S REALLY MY FAULT."

He felt her grip tighten a little.

"I'M SERIOUS, UNDYNE. YOU SEE, IF I HAD BEEN STRONGER, I WOULD'VE BEEN ABLE TO FIGHT OFF THE STARLIGHT KILLER. I WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN KIDNAPPED IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND THEY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN FREE TO… TO…" He took a moment to shake his head and sigh. "AND FURTHERMORE, FOR SOME REASON I WAS FAVORED AMONG THE OTHER VICTIMS. I WAS LET GO. _WHY_ WAS I LET GO WHEN THE OTHERS DIED?" He turned to face her once more. "YOU ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF HIM YOURSELF. WHY WAS I SO LUCKY?"

Her grip increased just a little more.

"AND WHAT'S MORE... I DON'T THINK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU'LL GET INJURED ON THE JOB, ESPECIALLY NOT WITH THE KILLER ON THE LOOSE. AND ONE DAY I MIGHT GET ANOTHER CALL... A DIFFERENT KIND OF CALL…"

Papyrus gasped a little as he saw a single tear slip down from Undyne's right eye.

"OH NO." He grabbed a tissue from the box on the nightstand and carefully dabbed her face. "DON'T CRY, UNDYNE. I'M SORRY. YOU'RE HERE AT THE HOSPITAL IN PAIN AND I'M JUST MAKING IT WORSE. I'LL STOP TALKING ABOUT MY DEEP SEATED INSECURITIES AND FEAR OF OUR LIVES TOGETHER GETTING CUT TRAGICALLY SHORT AND TALK ABOUT… CAKE. I LIKE CAKE. CAKE IS DELICIOUS. AND NOW I REALLY WANT CAKE. IS THIS A CRAVING? I'VE NEVER HAD A CRAVING BE- WHY ARE YOU SQUEEZING MY HAND, UNDYNE?"

He noticed beneath the oxygen mask that the corner of her lips was twitching slightly. He took it as a sign that she was trying to smile, bogged down by residual anesthesia though she may have been.

"I UHH… CAKE ISN'T THE ONLY THING GOOD I CAN TALK ABOUT. THERE'S ALSO ICE CREAM. OH WAIT, YOU DON'T LIKE ICE CREAM." A memory popped into Papyrus's head very suddenly. "DO YOU REMEMBER THAT TIME WE FRIED A POPSICLE? WHAT A MESS! TOOK FOREVER TO CLEAN IT UP AND WE LAUGHED… SO MUCH." He chuckled a bit, but soon found himself falling into a more bittersweet mood. "I DON'T WANT FOR DAYS LIKE THAT TO BE ALL IN THE PAST, UNDYNE. I MARRIED YOU TO KEEP FRYING POPSICLES AND SETTING THE KITCHEN ON FIRE. NOT LITERALLY SO MUCH. BUT TO MAKE STORIES WITH YOU FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. SO WE CAN TELL OUR GRANDKIDS JUST HOW CRAZY WE WERE." He reached over and grasped her hand with his other one, holding it close to him, pleading with her. "TWO WEEKS ISN'T LONG ENOUGH UNDYNE. I WANTED 200 YEARS. 2000 YEARS. I DON'T THINK THERE WILL EVER BE ENOUGH."

Another tear went rolling.

"AAH, I MADE YOU CRY AGAIN, UNDYNE! I'M SO SORRY!" As he wiped her eye, he smiled a bit, despite himself. "WHO KNEW THAT MY WORDS WOULD CREATE SUCH AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER FOR US BOTH?"

* * *

"i swear, it's just one thing after another, amiright, tori?"

Toriel nodded. "It would seem that way, yes." She stirred her hot tea and took a sip, looking down the nearby hallway to see if Papyrus was headed back. "It is such a shame that it is happening to Papyrus and Undyne, though, especially so close to their wedding…"

"mind if i say something that sounds horrible and selfish, tori?"

She looked around. "Well, hospitals are places of healing; if it is through these words that you are seeking some kind of healing, then there are few places other than a hospital that would be appropriate."

"i just don't want you to think less of me."

She smiled slightly. "Sans, we all have things with which we grapple. If your mind is so troubled, just speak it. I will do my best to be understanding."

"you're the best, tori. i don't deserve you." Sans snuggled into her a bit. "all right. well, to be frank, papyrus is… a handful."

"Are not all siblings a handful? My own Asriel and Chara would often get on each other's nerves for one reason or another."

"ah, right. did you fight with your little brother over stuff?"

"I fought with him all the time. All siblings do." Toriel sighed. "But sometimes, I do still miss him."

"look, i love papyrus but he's not easy to deal with. wasn't easy to raise, wasn't easy to live with. i thought when he and undyne got together, that would be it. my chance at total freedom. papyrus being part time. and maybe… ya know, maybe you and i would have a chance to spend more time together, start our own lives and let undyne and papyrus have theirs." Sans shook his head. "like i said. selfish."

She was silent for a few moments. Sans almost couldn't handle the lack of anything coming from this conversation.

But it didn't remain long. "Tell me, Sans: Do you worry about your brother's happiness?"

"to be totally honest… yeah. a lot."

"It would be easy to look at only the surface layer of your motives and say 'oh, he only cares for himself', but I see that there is more to it than that. Papyrus is an adult, is he not? If sounds like, amidst your desire for 'freedom,' you wish that Papyrus would be able to lead a fulfilling life with a spouse of his own."

"nailed it like always. except maybe i don't trust him. he went for the only one of us with a dangerous job and now a serial killer is on the loose and he's gone after them both. if this ends badly… that's it, isn't it? we'll be taking care of papyrus until he dies."

"It is a valid concern, however, I feel it would be important to take a situation like this one step at a time. Perhaps the worst will not even happen. For the moment, we just need to be here to support both Papyrus _and_ Undyne as they try to get through this. And it is not even just us; Alphys and Asgore are here as well."

"it's hard to let go. i really thought it would be easier once they got married. and yet, here we are. again."

"For them, marriage was just shedding one role and replacing it with another. Some problems remain the same." She leaned forward, placed a hand on the back of Sans's head, and kissed his forehead. "We will all get through this."

"Yeah," Sans said, blushing a little. "thanks for not thinking i'm selfish and horrible for not wanting to be responsible for my adult brother for the rest of his life."

"I do not think you give Papyrus enough credit sometimes."

Sans raised a curious eyebrow.

"Well, he is an adult but sometimes you treat him like a child."

"i…" Sans was having a hard time getting the words out.

"I think he is more capable than you might realize. And I do not think we will have to take care of him should this end… less than favorably. I believe he can bounce back."

He was quiet, nodding thoughtfully. "...yeah, you're right. thanks for being my rock when i lose sight of stuff, tori.

"It has been a while since I have been someone's… rock." Toriel squeezed his shoulder.

He smiled affectionately at her. But his gaze didn't linger long as he heard his brother's distinctive shuffling coming down the hallway.

"Papyrus," Toriel said. "How is Undyne?"

"...I HAD TO LEAVE."

Well, that was surprising. "why, bro?"

"I KEPT MAKING HER CRY." He stared down into his vending machine hot chocolate, stirring it absentmindedly.

"undyne can cry?" Sans half joked, earning himself an elbow in the ribs.

"I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT HOW I WAS FEELING AND OUR MARRIAGE AND I THINK I SAID SOME THINGS I SHOULDN'T HAVE."

Toriel shook her head lightly. "If it helps, Papyrus, she _has_ just come out of surgery; it is only natural that her emotions would be in more of a… raw state. Though, for everyone's sake, it would probably be best to have the conversation with her when she is more likely to remember it."

"IT'S PROBABLY GOOD SHE DOESN'T REMEMBER." Papyrus stared into his hot chocolate as if watching a riveting program on the TV. "DO YOU…" he cleared his throat. "DO YOU THINK IT WAS A MISTAKE? MARRYING HER?"

"What? A mistake? Do not be silly." Toriel scooted her chair so that she was sitting directly across from Papyrus. "Now what makes you say that?"

"I… I FEEL LIKE US TOGETHER JUST PUTS US IN MORE DANGER. I WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN KIDNAPPED AND MADE THIS ALL PERSONAL IF I WEREN'T DATING HER."

"You're right," came a more timid voice nearby. Toriel turned around to find Alphys and Asgore standing behind her. "I w-would have gotten captured instead."

"OH NO, ALPHYS, I WOULD NEVER WISH THAT ON-"

"Except it's a good thing it was y-you, not me. Oh wow, th-that sounds bad. I don't m-mean it like that." Alphys laughed nervously. "I meant… well, you know, I don't d-do so well under pressure. And y-you handled it s-so well. You could always h-handle her better than I c-could."

Asgore nodded. "For as long as I have known her, I have seen her remarkable, fiery spirit. If anyone is a good match to help her tame and properly channel that energy of hers, it is you."

"We had a g-great relationship. But it wasn't wh-what either of us n-needed in the long run. You're what sh-she needs for _life_."

A tone was heard over the intercom. "Code blue, room 915. Code blue, room 915." In a flurry of activity, a group of doctors ran down the hall and into a nearby room.

"915…?" Alphys muttered. "Isn't that…?"

"THAT'S UNDYNE'S ROOM. THAT'S UNDYNE'S ROOM! WHAT'S WRONG? WHY ARE ALL THOSE DOCTORS RUNNING IN? ALPHYS?"

The yellow monster went deathly pale. "I-It's a c-c-code b-blue…"

Papyrus waved his arms, flabbergasted. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!"

"I-I-It m-means her h-heart stopped b-b-beating..."

The cup of hot chocolate fell from the skeleton's hand, hitting the floor and spilling its searing contents. He bolted back down the hallway. But when he tried to push his way inside the room, he was stopped.

"Sir, this is an emergency; you're not allowed in!"

"BUT MY WIFE-"

"not again…" sighed Sans as he ran off to get his brother. The others followed him, with Alphys lagging behind from the shock of it all.

"PLEASE-"

"We're doing all we can," said the doctor. "We will let you know what happens."

Toriel and Sans ran up to Papyrus, gently pulling him back from the door, back to the lounge area, and embracing him tightly. Alphys and Asgore joined the group hug as well, Alphys welling up and still trembling as though she were in an earthquake.

"UNDYNE, SHE-"

"The doctors are here, Papyrus," Toriel assured him. "They are going to do everything they can."

"yeah, it's gonna be okay, bro." Sans hugged him tighter.

Papyrus sniffed. "WHAT IF IT'S NOT?"

There was silence, save the flurry of sounds coming from Undyne's room. No one had an answer for him.


	11. Part 2: Chapter 4

Papyrus had decided that hospitals were places where eternity often visited. This was the second span in the past 24 hours where the wait for something to happen or change seemed to last that long. Within the half hour that dragged its feet, Papyrus could barely feel his own; he'd been pacing as though Undyne's life depended on it.

Sans approached him, putting a hand on his forearm. "hangin' in there, bro?"

Papyrus stopped pacing and started staring at the floor. "I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS I CAN TAKE."

"well, alphys said it shouldn't be too much longer before we hear something."

"BUT WHAT IF THAT'S NOT THE CASE? HOW MUCH LONGER WILL THESE PROBLEMS PERSIST?"

A few moments later, one of the doctors-the very same one who'd told him to stay out of room 915-approached him. "We got her back and she's stable once more. You can see her now if you'd like." He gave the skeleton a friendly pat on the arm and walked past him.

He didn't need to be told twice. Papyrus bolted for Undyne's room, only slowing down once he walked through the doorway. Undyne looked worse for wear, paler than she was before, but at least she was alive. A nurse still remained, working with some tubing and writing things down on a clipboard.

"You're her husband, correct?" the nurse asked him.

"YES, UNDYNE IS MY WIFE AND SHE MEANS EVERYTHING TO ME SO PLEASE… JUST TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG."

The nurse filled out a few more boxes on her form. "She went into cardiac arrest about 30 minutes ago, but was revived fairly quickly, after about a minute. The team worked to get her stabilized and to get her determination levels back down; those levels spiked around the time her heart stopped, but are practically nonexistent now."

"IS SHE GOING TO DIE?"

"At this point, it's uncertain, but she's showing promise of recovery." She wrote down a few more things and smiled at Papyrus. "She's really something else. Compared to what I've seen with other monsters who've gone code blue… they only lasted a few seconds beyond that. In her case, I'm pretty sure it's the determination that kept her from disintegrating."

Papyrus looked at her, still a little confused. "WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?"

"To me, it looks like she just wasn't ready to die."

The nurse remained in the room to keep watch over Undyne for a few more hours, then left. She told Papyrus that he could sleep in the other bed in the room if he wanted to stay with her instead of heading home, but he just took that as an invitation to remain there forever, or at least until Undyne recovered. Goodness knows he wasn't planning on sleeping.

At one point he heard someone calling him from the doorway. There stood Sans, waving him over to talk.

"tori and i are gonna head home for the night, seeing as it's already morning" said the smaller skeleton. "how's she doing?"

"SHE'S STABLE. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'LL LAST THOUGH. NO ONE DOES."

Sans shook his head. "well, they've done this how many times now, three? they've got it down to a science by now.

"THREE?" Papyrus' eyes bugged. "THREE TIMES? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'VE DONE THIS THREE TIMES?"

"ohh boy…" he rubbed the back of his head. "i, uh, spoke with the surgeon after you ran off to tell everyone undyne was all right. she'd already come out of surgery and seemed stable so I didn't think you needed to-"

"OF COURSE YOU DIDN'T." Papyrus felt a flicker of anger igniting somewhere in his ribcage. "WHY TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT THE STATUS OF MY _WIFE_?"

An orderly walked down the hallway heard the commotion rising and promptly shushed Papyrus. Slightly embarrassed, the taller skeleton motioned for his brother to follow him down the hallway, back to the lounge where he had met with the others prior to the code blue.

"LIKE I WAS SAYING, WHY WOULD YOU KEEP THIS FROM ME, SANS? GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON!"

"well, gimme a minute and i'll-"

"YOU'LL WHAT, SANS? LIE TO ME AGAIN?" Papyrus seethed. "JUST LIKE ALWAYS?"

Sans clenched his fists. "fine. you want the whole truth? unfiltered? raw? i'll give you the truth, then. undyne had to be revived twice on the operating table. then again, that's not surprising when the bullet or whatever the hell this psycho freak used messed up her heart, left lung, and shoulder, in addition to all the cracked and broken ribs. and then when you throw in this whole dangerous determination crap, well, things just get even trickier. so to answer the big question on your mind: is undyne gonna die? i dunno. at this point, _probably_. is that what you want to hear, papyrus?"

Papyrus didn't answer; he just stood there, trembling, filled with a raging storm of multiple emotions.

"anything else you want to know, papyrus? where babies come from? it's not the stork. hopefully you and undyne have been careful with your soul sharing because that could come back to bite you." Sans threw down his empty beverage cup and stormed off without another word.

It took him a few moments, but Papyrus finally found the motion in his feet and headed back to room 915. He stood at Undyne's bedside, watching as she breathed peacefully.

"...I NEVER REALIZED IT WAS SO BAD, UNDYNE." He sat down next to her and took her hand in his. "BUT I'M HERE. FROM NOW ON. I'M NOT LEAVING YOUR SIDE."

Papyrus didn't sleep through the remainder of the night; he'd been holding on to her hand the entire time, watching for any sign of change. It hadn't been completely without communication, though, as doctors or nurses would come in from time to time to keep tabs on her.

"You need sleep," said one nurse at 5 am as she finished checking up on Undyne's blood pressure.

"AH," said Papyrus. "I DO APPRECIATE YOUR CONCERN BUT I'M FINE."

"Well, if you insist," she said, jotting a few things down. "I've noticed a remarkable improvement in her vital signs; chances are good that she should wake up soon. Just try not to let her get too excited about anything. Her heart's not as strong as it was and she's likely to tire more easily from lower energy activities." She headed out of the room.

Papyrus turned to look at his wife sleeping peacefully on the bed. She looked so… _comfortable_. Surely he could rest his eye sockets for a moment. He put his head down next to hers on the pillow.

"...You talk in your sleep."

Papyrus opened his eye sockets to the blazing sunlight through the curtains. Had he actually fallen asleep? That was unusual. More unusual still was that he had no recollection of dreaming anything. And, to his horror, it was now 1 in the afternoon. He'd never slept late before. _Never_.

"What was that about the popsicle? You sounded really invested."

He gazed into Undyne's now-open eye as she gently stroked his head with her good arm.

"UNDYNE, YOU'RE… YOU'RE… ALIVE!" Papyrus' head popped off the pillow and he stared into his wife's face.

"Just barely… oww…" She grimaced. "I need more drugs." She picked up a nearby remote button and buzzed for a nurse.

"DOES IT HURT?"

"Yeah."

"...DO YOU NEED A MASSAGE?"

She chuckled a little. "I don't think that's gonna help in this case… Apparently I'm a little too fragile for that right now." When the nurse came in, Undyne asked her for more painkillers, which she adjusted for her.

"WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER?"

Undyne frowned. "Mmm... uh, I remember walking back to my car, some excruciating pain, uh... waking up with some people telling me I just came out of surgery... and not much else."

"GOOD. I MEAN… GOOD YOU DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING." Papyrus seemed ill at ease.

"Sounds like some serious stuff happened. What'd I miss?"

At that moment, his skeletal eye sockets let loose with a considerable stream of tears.

Undyne's eye nearly bugged out. "Hey, hey, whoa, sorry, Papyrus... If you don't wanna talk about it, I'll just ask Alphys about it later, okay?"

"NO I... IT'S JUST... IT'S BEEN A REALLY STRESSFUL 24 HOURS." He tried wiping away his tears, but they just kept flowing.

"That stressful, huh? We might have to take another trip after this whole issue gets resolved."

Papyrus smiled, eyes still watery, but his smile faded a bit. "YOU FLATLINED, UNDYNE. THREE TIMES."

The fish woman sat in silence for a moment, taking in the new information. But the more she thought about it, the more she had the look of someone who'd sparred with death and come out victorious. "...THREE times?"

"PLEASE DON'T GET EXCITED," he said, motioning for her to settle down as there had been a notable increase in the number of beeps coming from the heart monitor.

She shook her head. "Sorry, sorry… but three times? No wonder you're so wound up."

The skeleton started shaking a bit. "I SAW IT. YOUR BODY WAS WAVERING. ANY SECOND, IT COULD HAVE…" He shook his head, abandoning the sentence for good.

The room was mostly silent for a few moments, until Undyne asked "...I'm okay now, right?"

"NO. BUT YOU WILL BE. WE KNOW THAT NOW."

"Why are you crying then?"

He gulped. "I K-KEEP IMAGINING WHAT W-WOULD HAVE HAPPENED. AFTER TWO W-WEEKS OF MARRIAGE, LOSING YOU…"

"Ohh, Papyrus…" She reached out to him with her good arm, waiting for him to lean into it. Gently, she pulled him close and gave him a warm kiss on the forehead. "Did they get the son of a… a turkey who put me here?"

Papyrus chuckled at her choice of words. He knew she favored these in particular when she was irritated but didn't want to swear around him. But the giggling didn't last. "NO. NOT YET. HE'S STILL ON THE RUN."

"Not for long." Undyne seethed.

"I WISH I COULD CATCH HIM FOR YOU." Papyrus said sincerely. "THEN I COULD… SMACK HIM WITH A BONE MAYBE."

Undyne chuckled lightly. She appreciated his sincerity, though. "Why Papyrus, how gallant."

"ANYTHING FOR YOU, MILADY," he said with a wink.

There was a moment of silence before the two of them burst out laughing. Well, Undyne laughed as carefully as she could with new stitches, but for some reason, she'd found the moment just as oddly amusing as he had.

Once the laughter had died down, he turned to face her. "I LOVE YOU, UNDYNE."

Undyne grabbed his and and rubbed the top with her thumb. "I love you too, Papyrus."

"OF COURSE YOU…" He paused. "ACTUALLY NO. HONESTLY? SOMETIMES I CAN'T IMAGINE WHY."

She frowned. "Whaaat? Why?"

"I CAN'T PROTECT YOU FROM ALL THIS, UNDYNE. YOU SAVED MY LIFE. AND I... I CAN'T EVER REPAY THAT. AND I ALWAYS REPAY MY DEBTS."

A scoff escaped her lips. "Papyrus, who even said there was a debt to begin with? I'd be a pretty bad person to expect something from everyone I've saved... especially the one I love most."

Papyrus looked perplexed. "YEAH, BUT YOU AND EVERYONE WENT ON THAT CRAZY SCAVENGER HUNT"

"You think we wouldn't do that for anyone else? Would you have done it if it was me?"

"OF COURSE, UNDYNE! I COULD NEVER LEAVE YOU ALONE WITH A PSYCHO LIKE THAT. I WOULD GO FAR AND WIDE TO-"

"Then you get why I did it." Undyne rested her arm across her stomach as though she was folding her arms. She let a few moments of quiet pass before asking "Do we need to keep talking about our feelings or…"

"OH NO, I CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING!" Papyrus tried to smile.

She nodded a bit, but frowned shortly afterwards. "...Why do I have the strangest urge to talk about cake?"

Her husband couldn't hold back; he found it so random of Undyne to say something like that that he started laughing.

"There's a genuine smile. Finally. I like to see my hubby happy."

"WELL I LIKE MAKING MY WIFEY HAPPY." Papyrus winked at her.

"Where's Sans? Let's gross him out by being way too aggressively adorable." Undyne looked around as if expecting to see Sans popping out of the closet and casually saying, "surprise."

"AHH… ABOUT THAT…"

Bashfully, Papyrus explained what had happened between him and Sans the previous night. Undyne nodded as her husband spoke, clearly thinking it over carefully.

"Hmm… you were both dumb." she said matter-of-factly.

"BUT SANS-"

"Both. Dumb." Undyne repeated more forcefully.

"BUT HE-"

"Dumb."

"I NEVER-"

"Dumb."

"SANS ALWAYS-"

" _Dumb_."

Papyrus growled in frustration, making Undyne grin triumphantly. When in doubt, she liked to repeat herself until Papyrus shut up. That or kiss him by surprise. The latter was even more effective."DO WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR HIM TO GET HERE?"

Undyne mulled it over for a moment. "...Nah." She motioned for Papyrus to sit on the edge of her bed, and when he did she put her good arm around him. It wasn't like their usual cuddling, but for now, they were happy to be able to cuddle at all. They'd been given the opportunity for sweet closeness, and they were taking it.

"...IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE LIKE THIS WITH US, ISN'T IT?" Papyrus asked.

"You mean awesome? Then yeah." Undyne reclined as much as she could, her arm around her husband, and put her head on his shoulder. "All the best things don't come easy. But dang if they aren't worth it."


	12. Part 2: Chapter 5

The lounge was mostly silent, save the nearby ticking of a clock, as the two skeleton brothers stood facing each other. Papyrus was the first to speak up.

"ACCORDING TO UNDYNE, WE WERE BOTH DUMB."

"yeah. tori thought so too. why are our wives smarter than we are?" Sans faltered for a moment. "that felt weird to say. our wives. we're married, pap. what horrible deeds did they do to deserve a life with us?"

Papyrus chuckled. " I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. UNDYNE CLEARLY SHOWED GREAT POTENTIAL AND GREAT COURAGE TO WIN MY HEART." He paused. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TORIEL DID."

Sans cracked up. "thanks a _lot_!"

The brothers stared at each other for a moment before simultaneously rushing forward to give the other a bone crushing hug.

"I'M SORRY." Papyrus said tearfully. "I WAS SO STRESSED AND I TOOK ALL OF IT OUT ON YOU."

"nah, i should apologize to you. what was i thinking, telling you undyne was probably gonna die?"

"YOU WERE TRYING TO TELL ME THE TRUTH; IT WAS JUST VERY BLUNT AND NOT WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR." Papyrus put Sans down after smacking him on the back a few times.

"still wasn't any excuse, bro. i'm sorry." He scratched the back of his head. "and... i'm sorry for not treating you like you deserve to be treated."

Papyrus waved his hand. "I STILL COLLECT ACTION FIGURES. AND LISTEN TO DISNEY SOUNDTRACKS AT FULL BLAST. AND MAKE BLANKET FORTS JUST BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT. AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT AN INSURANCE DEDUCTIBLE IS EVEN THOUGH TORIEL EXPLAINED IT TO ME 3 TIMES. I GET WHY YOU SEE ME AS A… A KID."

"aw, man, pap… that doesn't mean you're not an adult. you've just been lucky enough to keep your childlike spirit. you have a wife and a house and… you don't need me sheltering you anymore. you're old enough to be treated as an equal. have been for a long time." His grin widened. "want me to teach you all the swear words i know?"

"UNDYNE HAS PROVIDED ENOUGH CONTEXT FOR ME TO FIGURE THEM OUT. AND I DON'T LIKE SAYING THEM."

"yeah, i didn't think so. i _swear_ i was just… _kid_ ding around."

"THAT WAS BAD, EVEN FOR YOU." Papyrus chided.

"aww, you're such a critic."

Having cleared the air, the two of them headed back to Undyne's room. A doctor was just leaving, and Toriel sat in a nearby chair, chatting with the fish woman. The two gave their husbands an expectant look, hoping they'd come to some sort of resolution.

"...we made up," Sans said as he walked past the foot of the bed.

Toriel and Undyne smiled, both voicing their gratitude over the result of Sans and Papyrus talking. "That is absolutely wonderful!" Toriel said.

"Yep, fantastic. Ooh, by the way, Papyrus!" Undyne's smile grew wide. "Toriel brought a cake! And it's covered in melt-in-your-mouth buttercream!"

"WOWIE!" chirped Papyrus. "OH, UM, UNDYNE? THE DOCTOR SAYS SHE WANTS YOU TO START WITH JELLO UNTIL YOU'RE READY FOR SOLID FOODS."

Undyne frowned. "Jell-o? You mean like those little packages in the stores? What is that stuff, anyway?"

Papyrus scratched his head. "IT'S SORT OF RUBBERY AND SOFT. VERY HARD TO EXPLAIN." He was pacing, but stopped short. "OH WAIT... YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LIKE IT. IT'S COLD."

"...Joy."

Toriel brought a hand to her mouth. "I am very sorry; I should have known better. I can make another one when you are able to have it.

"Don't be ridiculous." Undyne eyed the Jello cup suspiciously. "The only cold food I'll eat is either stuff you made or Alphys made. Sorry, Papyrus."

"THAT'S OKAY. I'LL ASK IF THEY'LL LET YOU HAVE TEA OR SOMETHING."

Undyne frowned. "I want pancakes."

"I DON'T THINK THEY'LL LET YOU HAVE PANCAKES."

Undyne gritted her teeth. "Tell them it's pancakes or the rocks you find on the ground outside."

Sans and Toriel chuckled as Papyrus sputtered in horror. "UNDYNE!"

"What? I'm tough!"

"NOT AFTER SURGERY!" He scratched his head, thinking. "I THINK THEY CAN LET YOU HAVE SOUP. WOULD YOU LIKE SOUP?"

"They didn't operate on my stomach! Come on, lemme eat pancakes?" She stuck out her lower lip for dramatic effect.

"IT'S NOT UP TO ME."

"Tell them I either get pancakes or I will willingly starve to death."

"YOU'RE NOT MAKING THIS EASY."

"well, we'd _batter_ think of something soon, then," Sans chuckled.

Papyrus groaned and left the room, leaving both Toriel and Undyne behind to giggle at the joke. Out in the hallway, though, the change of scenery gave him an idea. He headed off down the hallway.

* * *

"PANCAKE SOUP. IT'S THE BEST I COULD DO," he said, placing a bowl on the moveable tray in front of her. He'd made the trek to the cafeteria to see if they could get creative with Undyne's very specific request. "THEY ALSO PUT WAFFLES IN IT, SEE?"

The soup itself consisted of tiny chunks of pancake and waffle, suspended in a thick, syrupy sweetness mostly consisting of maple. No one in the history of the universe had ever seen such a creation.

Undyne gasped delightedly. "Best. Husband. Ever." she said, digging into the 'soup.' "And the waffle bits are even burned, just like I like them. You are _awesome_."

Papyrus grinned, deciding not to tell her that he'd asked for them because the cafeteria had _accidentally_ burned them and were about to throw them away.

The fish woman eagerly devoured her soup, crunching the burnt waffle bits; she was happy as a clam.

Her husband slowly reached over to sneak a piece of pancake, but she playfully swatted his hand. He quickly recoiled, looking surprised.

"You can have my Jell-o," she said, pointing with her spoon at the nearby tray recently brought in for her.

"now you've done it." Sans quipped. "papyrus loves that stuff. we had it our first week back and he ate almost the entire bowl of it."

"Hey, if you can stomach that stuff, more power to ya."

"IT'S SO WEIRD AND CHILL AND I LOVE IT." Papyrus tore off the foil and dug in.

There was a quiet knock at the door, despite it being open. Toriel peered around the corner and smiled. "It would seem there is another visitor for you, Undyne."

The visitor conferred with someone at the door and stepped in, a look of concern on their face.

Undyne grinned. "Hey, it's Frisk! How're you doing, punk?"

"I should be asking _you_ that question; are you all right?" Frisk asked, nervously fiddling with their tie. "You've been all over the news lately!"

"The news?"

"Well, when the city's only monster cop gets shot, of course it's going to make the news." They pulled a newspaper out of their interior jacket pocket and unfolded it, pointing to the head article.

Papyrus leaned in closer. "WOWIE, UNDYNE; THEY PICKED A REALLY NICE PICTURE FOR YOU." He leaned in toward Frisk. "THAT'S THE ONE I CARRY IN MY WALLET."

Frisk handed the newspaper to Sans, who wanted to get a better look at the story. "Sorry I couldn't visit you sooner; after school, I got tied up in ambassador meetings. This whole thing hasn't been good for either of us."

"I'm sure it's a PR nightmare. But it's nothing you haven't handled before." Undyne said.

"I dunno… When the whole thing about the library's list of monster-written banned books surfaced, I thought _that_ was bad enough. I had to attend the meetings _and_ do my homework. Not even the higher ups get breaks in this business…"

"you talk like a politician already, kid." Sans gave Frisk a one-armed hug. "maybe you should take a break. smell the flowers. not all of them. just the inanimate ones."

Frisk giggled a bit. "Thanks, I could use one." They headed over to the other, unoccupied bed and flopped on top of it. A few seconds later, their tie was off and they were smiling like any other 10-year-old on break from school.

Toriel leaned over and rubbed the top of the child's head. "You should visit more often, Frisk; we miss seeing you around."

Frisk sat up. "I probably _should_ considering that I almost didn't get to see you all again after the thing with the bomb."

Everyone in the room paused, all eyes on the monster ambassador.

"Well, I mean, after Papyrus got kidnapped and you guys went after him, you almost got blown up. _I_ had no idea any of this was going on; I had to find out after the fact when the newspaper couldn't decide if they wanted to tie this story in with that. And I have no idea how _they_ found out about it when even _I_ didn't know."

There was an awkward silence that filled the area like a bad perfume. Until Undyne spoke up. "Uh, about that… we were so focused on finding Papyrus and catching the… _turkey_ that we naturally forgot to call some people about it."

"So you've said." Frisk shrugged and looked down at their hands. "Well I'm glad you're feeling better. And hey, can you maybe call me next time someone tries to kill you? Or any of you? Because I'd rather hear about it first from _you_ and not someone else at another surprise meeting."

"FRISK, WE NEVER MEANT TO HURT YOUR FEELINGS." Papyrus approached the other bed and put a hand on the child's shoulder. "AND WE ARE SO SORRY. I PROMISE THAT NEXT TIME, WE WILL CALL YOU. RIGHT AWAY."

Frisk's frown finally melted. "I can't stay mad at you, Papyrus. No matter how hard I try."

"THAT IS BECAUSE I AM THE BEST FRIEND YOU HAVE EVER HAD AND AN EVEN GREATER…" he leaned in and whispered, " _first love_."

Frisk laughed. "Yeah. Definitely."

"So, punk," Undyne said. "Do you want to hear the epic tale of how I stared death in the face and won?"

"weren't you unconscious for most of it?" Sans asked.

"You know what? Shut up." Undyne snapped. "It was still a victory. I flatlined 3 times."

"does the kid know what that means? or do you just not have the _heart_ to tell them?"

"Ha ha. Very funny." Undyne threw a pillow at Sans as Toriel laughed.

"well, aren't you going to continue your story? or do i have to _shoulder_ the responsibility?"

"SANS, THAT'S CROSSING A LINE!" Papyrus shouted, sounding horrified.

"aw, come on, bro; everyone enjoys a good _rib_ bing once in a while."

"I believe _IV_ what you mean." Toriel joined in, laughing with a hand over her mouth.

"by the way, frisk, have you had some of tori's butterscotch buttercream cake? it's medi _sinful_."

"You make it sound like I filled it with cough syrup."

"well, we're in a hospital, right? i'd think that makes it _health food_."

"Oh stop, you are just _buttering_ me up!"

"now you know I could never truly stop. i'll _goat_ on forever about how good your cakes are."

"Okay, please leave." Undyne gestured toward the door. "You're a bad influence on each other."

"yeah. that's why we got married." Sans took Toriel's hand and the two of them left the room still snickering.

Frisk giggled as the door shut.

"DON'T ENCOURAGE THEM." Papyrus sighed, cutting a piece of the cake and handing it to Undyne. "HONESTLY, THEY WERE MADE FOR EACH OTHER. WHICH IS GOOD BECAUSE SHE CAN HAVE HIM!"

* * *

Frisk eventually had to leave as the evening turned to night. After waving goodbye, Undyne turned to Papyrus. "It's probably a good idea for me to get some sleep, too. How about you? You gonna try tonight?"

Papyrus eyed the other bed. "I… DON'T KNOW."

"You slept fine last night."

He twiddled his fingers. "I WAS TIRED. NOW THAT EVERYTHING'S OKAY, I'M NOT SURE…"

"If you'll have to go through it again. Am I right?"

"YOU'RE… CLOSE?"

Undyne's brow furrowed. "Close how?"

"CLOSE IN THAT YOU'RE COMPLETELY RIGHT."

"So… spot on."

"VERY MUCH SO."

Undyne sighed a bit. He had a valid reason to be anxious, but he needed more rest. "You still look like a wreck, though. You should get some sleep. In fact…" She started throwing the edge of her blanket down a bit. "...If you help me scooch over, you can sleep up next to me. Just, uh, don't mind the nurse who comes in every few hours."

"ARE YOU SURE?"

She nodded. "Papyrus, I almost feel like I'm being selfish enough as it is just sitting here doing nothing but recovering."

"YOU'RE NOT SELFISH; YOU GOT SHOT!"

"I still feel bad for not helping you out, so I'm gonna do that now. If you move me over a bit," she patted the side of the bed closer to the middle of the room. "You should have some room right here, though not a lot."

Papyrus eyed the other bed. "I THINK I HAVE A BETTER IDEA."

"Oh?"

The skeleton took the small, low dresser between the beds and wheeled it out of the way, making room for him to pull the other bed over a bit. Running around to the other side, he pushed it up against hers, giving the two of them plenty of sleeping space.

Undyne smiled. "Ahh, my husband the genius."

"NYEH HEH HEH, I DO STUDY PUZZLE DESIGN ON A REGULAR BASIS. KEEPS THE MIND SHARP!" Taking off his shoes, he climbed up onto the other bed, moving closer to Undyne.

"If you want to snuggle, I'm afraid we're gonna have to do it differently…"

"HMM…" Papyrus sighed. "I GUESS WE CAN JUST HOLD HANDS TONIGHT."

"Yeah. I'll let you know when my stitches have healed, though." She reached out and gently took his hand, smiling warmly. "Love you, Papyrus."

"...LOVE YOU TOO, UNDYNE."

They were both out fairly quickly, a sure sign of fatigue. But that night, they were determined to not let life's recent problems get in the way of them being together, even if together just meant lying side by side while holding hands. Still, with Undyne's health improving as it was, Papyrus had less fuel for his possible nightmares.

But he still woke up a few hours later, which, to be fair, was part of his regular routine. It was a few moments after getting his eye sockets to focus that he saw another figure in the now-darkened room. Something told him that this wasn't the night nurse Undyne had mentioned. It could've been the lighting. It could've been the hulking size of the figure.

Or it could've been the figure's arm, raised, with a sharp-looking object held in its grasp.


	13. Part 2: Chapter 6

_NO… NOT AGAIN,_ Papyrus thought. A thousand things were running through his mind, but this was the first sentence to take form with actual words. Everything else was nothing more than mere feeling, boiling to the point of anger. He'd never been so angry in his life… and here it was pure, righteous fury.

"NO!" he screamed, launching himself off the bed and slamming into the figure, sending a cluster of bones ahead of him in a blinding rage. The attacker, caught off guard, tried to hurl a number of stars at him, but was too late. The collision shook the nearby furniture, knocking the TV off the wall with a resounding _CRASH_. With a quick thrust, the intruder threw Papyrus off and bolted to the window, throwing a handful of stars like shuriken. The skeleton narrowly dodged, them, sending more bones in their direction.

The figure ducked, sending the bones flying straight through the glass, shattering it wide open. Seeing this as a good opportunity to escape, they made a break for the window, but was deterred by a wall of blue bones that appeared seemingly out of nowhere. They turned around to see Papyrus, eyes glowing, fist outstretched as though he was physically holding the bones together.

" _YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE_ ," he growled, his voice lower and more forceful than even he'd ever heard. It was almost as though he wasn't himself, a different person entirely. " _I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU HURT ANYONE ELSE_."

Chuckling darkly, the villain produced a huge barrage of stars, hurling them all at once. Papyrus moved out of the way, but he was the only member of the opposing team in the room who was unscathed.

"Ow…" Undyne touched the side of her left cheek with her right hand, a fresh line of blood coloring her fingertips.

Papyrus saw this, utter horror gripping his core. In less than a second, he'd wheeled back around to face the intruder.

It all happened so quickly. Papyrus didn't know what had happened. He wasn't even aware of what he was doing. But in a fraction of a second, from over his shoulder, a massive beam had materialized, blasting the shadowy figure and the wall behind them. When the dust settled, the attacker lay on the floor, barely on the cusp of consciousness. Behind them was a gaping hole in the wall, framing the starry night outside.

He turned around to check on Undyne, who sat on her bed, eye wider than he'd ever seen in his life.

" _Whoa_ …" she breathed.

Papyrus turned to look over his shoulder and saw a humongous animalistic skull hovering in midair. It looked back at him and seemingly smiled, winking in Undyne's direction before vanishing in midair.

Wide-eyed himself, Papyrus then stumbled backwards. Remembering what had just taken place, he directed his attention to the floor. In a bit of a daze, he bent down to check on the intruder, who, while still alive, was pretty badly injured. Still, being alive meant that they were possibly capable of attacking again. He formed a magical cage of blue bones, lowering them over the figure.

The main lights for the room were flipped back on as a number of doctors and nurses entered to check on the commotion. One of them began checking on Undyne, tending to her grazed cheek.

The skeleton sat down on the edge of the empty bed, staring at everything before him. Reality flew in and finally hit him in the head like a ton of bricks. "...OH MY GOSH WHAT HAVE I _DONE_?"

Undyne's eye was still wide open. "Papyrus, what was all _that_? Am I dreaming? And how come you never did that during our training lessons?"

"I DIDN'T WANT TO HURT YOU, UNDYNE! ALSO, ON A SIDE NOTE, I DIDN'T ACTUALLY KNOW I COULD DO THAT…"

"No kidding…"

A few police officers who'd been in the nearby area at the time entered the room as well, investigating the suspect in the bone cage. A few moments into this, Papyrus stood bolt upright, his fist in his hand as though he'd just remembered something. "I'VE GOTTA CALL FRISK!"

* * *

Frisk, still stuck in the grip of slumber, clumsily reached for their phone as it rang with the ringtone assigned to Papyrus. "...Papyrus?" Frisk yawned.

"FRISK! I'M SORRY IT'S THREE IN THE MORNING BUT YOU ASKED ME TO CALL FIRST WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENED SO I'M CALLING TO TELL YOU THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED AND I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT I THINK I CAUGHT THE KILLER AND THERE WAS A BEAM AND I LEFT A CRATER IN THE FLOOR AND THERE'S A HOLE IN THE WALL AND PLEASE JUST GET DOWN HERE AND CALL THE OTHERS DOWN HERE TOO BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT OKAY THANK YOU BYE!"

_Click._

Frisk didn't know what to make of it… they didn't even know if they'd _heard_ all of it. But they still did as Papyrus had asked and began calling the others, starting with Sans.

"what?" he asked. "papyrus called you at three? not unusual, but kind of weird for him to call _you_."

"He's a man of his word. He said he'd call me if something new happened, and so he did. It was nice of him." Frisk nodded out of habit.

Sans paused a moment. "...something happened?"

"I don't know what exactly, but he said something about a beam, and a crater, and a hole in the wall, and then I think he caught the killer."

"did he say anything else?"

"No, he seemed kind of frantic…"

Sans shrugged. "well, that's nothing new. we'll be right over to pick you up. it'll be a full car, though; we all decided to crash at asgore's place, so we'll be taking his van."

"All right. See you all later!"

* * *

Less than 15 minutes later, the group arrived at the hospital, a still freaked-out Papyrus greeting them at the entrance.

"GUYS THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE HERE I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED THERE WAS AN INTRUDER AND SO MANY COLLISIONS AND A BEAM AND I PUT A HOLE THROUGH THE WALL AND THERE WAS A CRATER AND NOW WE CAN'T BE THERE ANYMORE BUT I THINK WE CAUGHT THE KILLER?"

Sans nodded, taking in every word. "so the killer snuck into the room, you protected undyne, the starlight killer's off the streets, and they've moved undyne to a new room."

"How'd you figure that out?" Alphys asked, staring at Papyrus with eyes so wide they threatened to pop through the lenses of her glasses.

Sans shrugged. "i'm fluent in rapid-pa- _fire-_ us."

"What?"

"never mind."

The group followed Papyrus inside to the same hallway as before, but to a room a little farther down, closer to the elevators than the lounge. When they walked inside, they saw Undyne sitting in bed, a look of shock on her face.

"...Loren…" she muttered, shaking her head.

"WHO?" Papyrus asked.

"I got a good look at the killer… it's this monster who lived around Waterfall. I mean, we knew she was a little crazy-she kept asking... _odd_ questions about stars-but we didn't think she was _axe_ -crazy! I don't get it…"

"WELL, NO MATTER _WHO_ IT WAS, UNDYNE…" He stepped forward and took her hand in both of his. "I'M JUST GLAD YOU'RE SAFE NOW."

"This guy saved my life." Undyne said, jerking her head in the direction of Papyrus. "He tackled her and then blasted her to smithereens! It was _awesome_!"

"I HONESTLY COULDN'T TELL WHAT WAS GOING ON; IT WAS ALMOST LIKE I WAS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PERSON! BUT UNDYNE IS RIGHT; AS SOON AS I'D SENSED THERE WAS AN INTRUDER IN THE ROOM, FOR SOME REASON I POUNCED AND THREW A TON OF BONES!"

"No, he _blasted_ her! I've never seen anything like it! It was incredible!"

"IT WAS THE WEIRDEST THING; AFTER UNDYNE GOT HURT BY ONE OF THE STARS, THIS POWER JUST FELT LIKE IT WAS WELLING UP INSIDE ME, AND I RAISED MY HAND UP, SENDING THIS SUPER-WIDE BEAM BLASTING THROUGH THE WALL!" He flexed his non-existent muscles. "I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS SO POWERFUL! I EVEN THINK MY EYES WERE GLOWING! UH, OF COURSE, I MADE SURE TO CHECK THAT I HADN'T HURT MY OPPONENT TOO BADLY-BETTER TO STYMIE THAN DESTROY-BUT I'M JUST SO HAPPY I COULD PROTECT UNDYNE AND OTHER PEOPLE BY BEING SO STRONG!"

He paused, turning around to look at his wife. "OH, UNDYNE, I'M SORRY IF I'M SCARING YOU; IT REALLY WAS A HARROWING EVENT. I SHOULD BE MORE SENSITIVE."

Everyone turned to look at Undyne, whose heart monitor had gone crazy in the last few seconds. Alphys grinned knowingly as Undyne's cheeks tinged puce.

"Uhh… yeah. Totally scary," she said, trying to avoid eye contact with everyone.

"WELL THEN, I REALLY SHOULD STOP, BECAUSE THE DOCTOR SAID NOT TO TIRE YOU OUT…"

"Say, Papyrus, can you get me some coffee?" Undyne asked rather abruptly.

"ANYTHING FOR MY QUEEN!" Papyrus saluted and walked out of the room with a bounce in his step.

"I really wish it wasn't decaf though." Undyne frowned, apparently eager to change the subject. "That's all they'll let me-"

"Sooooo…" Alphys narrowed her eyes at Undyne. "I think you j-just saw a side of Papyrus y-you've never seen before."

"I… what are you talking about?"

Sans wiggled his 'eyebrows'. "well you're pretty fearless so I think we all know why your heart suddenly started beating faster while papyrus was telling us all about his heroics."

"Someone's a l-little turned on."

Her cheeks went from puce to plum. "I… you… you know what? Shut up!"

"Th-this is totally your erotic d-dream, isn't it?" Alphys was soon cut off by a pillow colliding with her face.

Toriel giggled. "Well, he _is_ your husband. If you did not have feelings for him, it would be a cause for concern."

Undyne just sat there, stewing in her own embarrassment. The day she'd have that 'lie detector' finally removed would be a day to celebrate. But in her condition, that wasn't going to be anytime soon. She found herself praying that Papyrus just wouldn't do anything else unexpectedly heroic while she was in the hospital.

"YOUR COFFEE, MILADY!" Papyrus burst into the room as if he was triumphantly carrying a child out of a raging fire instead of bringing a small cup of coffee to his wife.

"You have quite a bounce in your step," Asgore noted, watching Papyrus strut around the room.

"IT'S NOT EVERY DAY I SAVE THE LIFE OF MY HEROIC WIFE. OH, THAT RHYMED! I SHOULD WRITE IT INTO A SONG!"

Undyne covered her face with her hand, blushing once more. _This dork…_ she thought to herself. _I love him so much but he's such an idiot. ...My idiot._

A few moments later, saving Undyne from any more embarrassment in front of her friends, a nurse poked her head in through the door. "I realize that this is a special case, but I think it's about time visiting hours are over; these two have been up for a good deal of the night and need some rest."

Toriel looked at her watch. "Oh, good heavens; we should _all_ be getting our rest." She stood up from the chair in the corner. "Well, then, have a good night Undyne, Papyrus…" She ushered the others out as they bid their goodnights. Well, with one exception: Sans. She woke him so he could say goodnight and go to sleep at home, rather than in the other bed.

When they had left, Papyrus rearranged the furniture as he'd done in the other room, took his shoes off, and climbed onto the other bed.

"I hope last night wasn't too scary," he whispered to her, once again uncharacteristically quiet.

"It wasn't scary." Undyne whispered back. "It was _sexy_."

His volume slightly increased back to his usual whisper setting. "SEXY? WOWIE… NO ONE'S EVER CALLED ME SEXY BEFORE… YOU REALLY LIKED THAT?"

"Yeah. I didn't say anything during the fight, because I honestly thought I was dreaming and it was such a good dream I didn't want to disturb you. C'mere, sexy…"

Papyrus grinned and scooted a little closer to Undyne, gently taking her hand in his own. It was an unfortunate circumstance that they couldn't do anything more than hold hands when she'd never found herself as attracted to him as she was that night. But, she figured, patience is a virtue. She'd be able to express those feelings eventually. But for now…

"Love you, Papyrus." She gave his hand a little squeeze.

"I LOVE YOU, UNDYNE…"


	14. Part 2: Chapter 7

Three days after the capture of the Starlight Killer found Papyrus waking up a little earlier than he had been during this whole event. It was still later than he usually woke, but considering that Undyne was by his side, he didn't let the details bother him. When you have as big a miracle as being with the one you love, none of the small stuff matters.

He smiled as he watched her sleep, a peaceful look about her face. Gently reaching over, he brushed her fiery hair away from her eye, leaning in to touch his forehead to hers. How could he be so lucky to be her husband?

Undyne opened her eye after receiving his version of a kiss. "Morning…" she mumbled, gently stretching with her good arm.

"GOOD MORNING," he cooed, gazing at her.

She was still just waking up, but she noticed. "What is it?"

"OH. UH…" He could tell her, right? Yes, he could. "I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT HOW ODDLY LUCKY I AM TO BE WITH YOU."

" _Oddly_ lucky?" Undyne raised an eyebrow. "Not the adverb you expect."

"WELL," Papyrus rubbed the back of his neck, "HOW DO I PUT THIS? YOU'RE… A HEROINE. AND I'M… PAPYRUS. AND THOUGH I AM VERY GREAT, THAT IS ALL DUE TO YOU. SO, SINCE YOU ARE THE CAUSE OF MY GREATNESS, IT STANDS TO REASON THAT YOUR GREATNESS FAR OUTSTRIPS MY OWN. WHICH MAKES ME INCREDIBLY LUCKY TO BASK IN GREATNESS SUCH AS YOURS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE."

"Why are you so… I dunno, _thoughtful_ this morning?" Undyne ran her fingers through her tangly hair. "You usually wake me up with a kiss and a 'GOOD MORNING' and spaghetti. Now you're waking me up with your inferiority complex."

"YOU JUST LOOKED SO BEAUTIFUL WHEN YOU WERE SLEEPING."

Undyne wiped flecks of dried drool off her cheek. "Yeah. Beautiful."

Papyrus grinned. "IT'S HEROIC DROOL."

"Oh hush." Undyne pitched a pillow at him. "And to respond to your ridiculous comments cleverly masking your belief that I'm way out of your league, shut your mouth. I'm the lucky one. You're more patient than Alphys ever was. Than _anyone_ ever was. Why are you so patient? _How_ are you so patient and so neurotic at the same time?"

"PRACTICE."

"That means Sans."

"YES, SANS HELPED A LOT." Papyrus nodded as he spoke, his mind heavy with memories.

Amused, Undyne snorted. "Remind me to thank him."

"YOU CAN GO HALFSIES ON THE XYLO-BONE I GOT HIM FOR HIS BIRTHDAY."

"Deal." She paused for a few moments. "Seriously, though, why do I get so much of your patience? I think most people would've been out the door by the end of the _first_ suplex. You're still here after…" She started counting on her fingers, but soon lost track. "A lot."

"AHH ABOUT THAT." Papyrus' cheeks reddened a tiny bit. "I LIKE IT WHEN YOU SUPLEX ME. IT'S UNPREDICTABLE. AND IT MAKES YOU SMILE." He took a moment to give her a smile of his own. "YOU KNOW, I SCHEDULE EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY, ALWAYS HAVE. SANS EVEN HAS A ROUTINE. GRANTED, IT'S MOSTLY EATING AND SLEEPING AND ME CARRYING HIM UP TO HIS ROOM AT NIGHT, BUT IT'S PREDICTABLE. AND I THOUGHT MY LIFE WOULD BE LIKE THAT FOREVER. BUT YOU? I CAN NEVER PREDICT A THING. ONE SECOND YOU'RE FRYING POPSICLES, ANOTHER YOU COME UP BEHIND ME AND SUPLEX ME. I USED TO HATE IT BUT NOW? I RELISH EVERY SURPRISE."

"...Aww, Papyrus…"

"I LOVE YOU _BECAUSE_ YOU'RE A WILD CARD, NOT IN SPITE OF IT."

Undyne chuckled a bit. "...No one's ever really complimented that side of me."

The skeleton's eyebrows rose. "ALPHYS?"

"I mean… she liked me. She just didn't… _get_ me." Undyne furrowed her brow. "You really get me, Papyrus. We've been married for 2 weeks and I'm still finding new reasons it was a good idea."

"I DO HOPE YOU KEEP FINDING THEM FOR A LONG TIME; LIKEWISE, I WANT TO DO THE SAME WITH YOU. AND," he paused. "I WANT THEM ALL TO BE A SURPRISE."

Undyne smiled, her cheeks tinting violet.

Papyrus glanced over her shoulder, noticing the steady increase in beeps from the heart monitor. "DID YOU FIND THAT SEXY?"

"I find _you_ sexy, Papyrus."

The skeleton blushed. "WOWIE…"

"Hey now, don't get _too_ excited…" came the voice of the doctor who'd just walked in through the door. "You're still recovering, remember? Besides, the skips and flutters alter the readings."

Undyne facepalmed. "Uh... hi. Mind if I try going for a walk today?"

She nodded as she wrote some notes on her clipboard. "Seems like a good day to do it. Aside from the previously mentioned anomalies, you've been making excellent progress with your recovery, so we're taking you off the EKG today."

"Oh, thank GOD," Undyne huffed. The sooner she could go back to maintaining her heroic image, the better.

* * *

"Finally good to get out of that room," Undyne muttered as she slowly walked down the hall, pulling an IV stand along with her left hand and being guided by Papyrus with her right. "Although…"

"YES, UNDYNE?"

"...It'd be nice if we could walk a little faster." Her face fell in frustration as it occurred to her just how slowly they were walking.

Papyrus looked taken aback. "BUT UNDYNE, THE DOCTOR SAID-"

"Yeah, but she _also_ said I'm making excellent progress. I'm not gonna fall on my face, watch me."

"W-WELL…" He took a quick look behind and in front of them, hoping no one was coming. "ALL RIGHT."

"All right, let's do this!" Undyne let go of Papyrus and started walking a little quicker down the hallway. She barely even walked fifteen feet before she started slumping a bit.

"UNDYNE!" The skeleton dashed forward and caught the fish woman, keeping her from sliding down very far in his arms. "I'VE GOT YOU."

"Uggh…" she muttered, blushing. "I'm tiring out easier. This totally sucks!"

"I DID SAY THAT YOU-" He frowned. "WAIT, I NEVER DID GET TO SAY IT. WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY IS THAT THE DOCTOR SAID YOU'RE STILL GOING TO BE WEAK FOR A WHILE."

She growled a little. "Sorry, but could you not use the word 'weak', please?"

Papyrus frowned. "UH… I MEAN MUCH LESS STRONG. AVERAGE STRENGTH."

"...Thanks," she said, panting a bit. She looked up at him. "Well, to be fair, I didn't fall on my face."

"NO, YOU FELL ON MINE."

"Heh, sorry…" She smiled. "I was just excited to get out of that _prison_. I mean, it's a nice room, but lying there still for so long, I found myself ready to go crazy!" Leaning on her husband, she resumed a slow and steady stroll.

Papyrus may have kept walking with Undyne, but his mind came to a halt. 'Prison'? He'd been curious about what Loren was trying to accomplish… perhaps he'd go and pick her brain to find out what had been the method behind the madness that was her plans.

"UNDYNE," he began. "I… REALIZED SOMETHING."

"What's that?"

"WELL, ABOUT THIS 'LOREN' PERSON YOU MENTIONED…"

"Yeah?"

"WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT HER MOTIVATION WAS. WHY SHE DID ALL SHE DID. I WAS… JUST THINKING THAT IT WOULD BE CONVENIENT TO HEAD DOWN TO THE STATION AND ASK TO HAVE AN INTERVIEW WITH HER."

Undyne was silent; but not for long. "...No."

"WHAT?"

"No, Papyrus. I don't want you to go there."

He was slowly feeling dejected. "BUT UNDYNE, YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY THIS HAPPENED, RIGHT?"

"Well, yeah, but…" She sighed. "Not at the expense of your joy."

"BUT I HAVE PLENTY OF JOY; IN FACT, IT IS ENOUGH TO SHARE WITH EVERY ONE OF MY FRIENDS AND THEN SOME!"

She stopped walking. " _Papyrus_ , I…" With a little effort, she managed to slip her good arm in between his torso and arm. A few moments later found him in her embrace. "Please don't go. Don't give her another opportunity to hurt you."

Papyrus knew if he said another word on the matter, he'd promise her that he wouldn't go, and then his integrity would force him to keep that promise. All he did was gently return the hug, rubbing her back as he did.

The rest of the walk took all of two minutes, as Undyne's endurance had been greatly slashed. Papyrus eagerly agreed to train with her over the next several weeks to get her back to where she was. Smiling, Undyne told him that she'd hold him to this, not that she really needed to say anything about it. She knew he would.

Upon returning to the room, Undyne was helped back into bed. Tired out, she quickly drifted off, giving Papyrus the moment he needed. He left the hospital, hoping to have enough time to carry out his errand before she woke up again or started wondering where he was.

The time was right in the middle of visiting hours at the local prison, so Papyrus didn't need to worry about getting kicked out due to a time crunch. As the warden went to get the prisoner, Papyrus sat nervously in the meeting room chair, the dividing plexiglass the only thing between him and the soon-to-be-there perpetrator.

The door in the prisoner's area slammed shut as seemingly nothing approached, heralded by tiny footfalls. Soon, however, Papyrus found himself face-to-face with the onion-like monster he'd subdued the other night.

Loren wasn't very impressive-looking now, a small, round being compared to the hulking figure that he'd taken down. Her tiny eyes, heavy-lidded, practically bored a hole into Papyrus as he sat there, trying to think of the first thing to say.

But he didn't need to; Loren opened her invisible mouth before he opened his. "Well if it isn't the little ray of sunshine. I know you're not the gloating type, so you must have a different reason for being here. Spill."

Papyrus took a deep breath and exhaled. "SO YOU'RE THE STARLIGHT KILLER?"

Loren nodded. "Yes."

"AND YOU KIDNAPPED ME?"

"Yes."

"AND YOU… YOU SHOT UNDYNE?"

"Also yes."

"PARDON ME FOR ASKING BUT… HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO DO ALL THAT WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE ANY ARMS?" His eyebrows rose.

Loren snorted. "They're not really visible unless I make them that way. Regardless, it doesn't matter what your arms look like or where they are if you have shapeshifting powers.

"OH. I SUPPOSE YOU'RE RIGHT." He cleared his throat. "ANYWAY, THE MAIN REASON I CAME HERE TODAY WAS TO ASK YOU THIS: WHY?"

"...'why' what?"

"OF ALL THE THINGS YOU COULD BE DOING WITH YOUR LIFE-ESPECIALLY YOUR NEW LIFE UP HERE ON THE SURFACE-WHY CHOOSE THIS? WHY HURT INNOCENT PEOPLE? WHY KIDNAP ME AND HARM MY WIFE? WHY KILL ALL OF THOSE HUMANS? THEY HAD FAMILIES. ONE OF THEM HAD CHILDREN."

Loren clicked her tongue. "I feel so bad for you. You don't seem to get it, to understand the point I'm trying to make. You're familiar with the War of Humans and Monsters, right? Please tell me you are."

"WELL, OF COURSE I AM. WHO ISN'T?"

"A good deal of the people up here on the surface aren't, I can tell you that much. Do you know why they're treating us the way they are? It's a long-running inferiority complex humans have toward monsters. By forcing us underground, they were just able to conveniently 'sweep' their problem under the rug of reality. But now?"

"...YOU SOUND ANGRY," Papyrus commented, cautiously.

"I'm honestly surprised more monsters aren't!"

"BUT THAT ALL HAPPENED SO LONG AGO. NONE OF THESE HUMANS, THE ONES AROUND NOW, DID ANYTHING TO ANY OF US!"

"You're right," she said. "They didn't do anything _for_ us either, like trying to break the barrier from the outside. It took a whole strange incident involving one kid to free us all from that living nightmare. On the whole, though, they realize it, and they're leaving us alone: we, monsters, are the superior beings here. And we should act that way. Working side by side with humans only tells them that we find ourselves on equal footing with them."

Papyrus was taken aback. "BUT WHAT DOES KIDNAPPING ME AND KILLING HUMANS HAVE TO DO WITH ANY OF THAT? AND… AND YOU ALMOST KILLED UNDYNE. TWICE! I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE NOTICED, BUT… UNDYNE AND I AREN'T HUMAN."

"I know that. But you're working with them." She shifted in her chair, her eyelids lowering. "I'm trying to send a message to everyone, that if you mess with the natural order, bad things happen. Working with these lesser beings can only bring about disaster. Consider my crimes just a taste of what could happen."

"I…" Papyrus said, shaking his head. "I DON'T UNDERSTAND."

Loren chuckled. "I wouldn't expect a lesser monster of the unenlightened variety to be able to, anyway."

The small monster went on for a while more, but none of it was making any sense to Papyrus. He left the prison, his head still swimming in all the strange ideas that Loren had been throwing at him. Whatever it all meant, though, he sensed it couldn't have been good. Monsters and people were beings on equal footing, weren't they?


	15. Part 2: Chapter 8

"Ugh, that felt like an eternity…" Undyne muttered, staring out the window. "This is why I hate court stuff."

"WELL," Papyrus said, "IF IT'S ANY CONSOLATION, THE WEEK YOU SPENT IN THE HOSPITAL ALSO FELT LIKE AN ETERNITY…"

"Very funny." Undyne smirked. "At least it's over. All of it."

The skeleton nodded, carefully maneuvering in and out of traffic. "AT LEAST… UH, THE COURT PROCEEDINGS WEREN'T TOO STRESSFUL FOR YOU, WERE THEY?" His brow creased. "IT'S ONLY BEEN THREE WEEKS SINCE YOUR, UH..."

"I could handle it. I was more impressed with you."

"...YOU WERE?"

With a bit of effort, she reached out with her left hand and touched his forearm. "How are _you_ doing? Must have been tough to relive all that."

Papyrus sighed deeply. "IT WAS. BUT WHENEVER I STARTED TO FEEL OVERWHELMED, I LOOKED AT YOU AND SANS AND EVERYONE AND… I REMEMBERED WHY I WAS THERE."

Undyne smiled. "You… remembered a lot of detail about the whole event. I've gotta say, I'm not sure even my memory would've been that good… especially under all that stress." She tightened her right fist. "Sorry about the ugly looks I was throwing around the courtroom; your story was… emotionally investing, and not just because I love you and was a part of it."

"PLEASE JUST TELL ME THEY WEREN'T FOR THE JURY?"

She chuckled. "Oh, heck no, they were for Loren. But you know I would've loved to have given her more than just glaring looks."

"NO KIDDING. BUT I DON'T THINK THERE'S SUCH A THING AS AN UGLY LOOK ON YOU."

"...Aw…" The violet tint to her cheeks betrayed her, but only for a moment. She quickly regained her composure. "Well, if anything, they had more than enough evidence to lock her away for life and _then_ some, with your testimony. You're totally a part of the reason people are safe now." She nodded. "I'm proud of you, Papyrus."

"ME? YOU'RE PROUD OF _ME_?" It was Papyrus' turn to blush now. "IT WAS NOTHING, UNDYNE. I JUST TOLD THEM WHAT HAPPENED TO ME. I GOT LUCKY WHEN I CAPTURED HER."

"Lucky?" Undyne readjusted herself in her seat. "Papyrus, that wasn't luck, that was pure instinct! And it was so _amazing_!" She panted a bit.

"YES, I KNOW YOU LIKED IT A LOT." Papyrus winked at her.

She facepalmed. "Oh man, you are never going to let me live that down, are you?" Shaking her head, she peered over at him through her fingers. "Remind me the next time I'm in the hospital, those guys aren't allowed in my room."

"YOU REALLY DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM? I THOUGHT YOU ENJOYED HAVING THEM AS VISITORS!"

"Not if they're gonna razz me about every little thing…" She turned her head, muttering. "Some things are just a little too personal…"

Papyrus smiled. "WELL, IF IT MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER, I'M GLAD TO KNOW I MAKE YOUR HEART RACE."

Undyne chuckled a bit. "Thanks… wish I could say the same for you, but… I guess the equivalent would be that I'm glad to know that I'm popular with you?"

"THAT WORKS."

"...I'm glad." She sat back in her chair again, sighing. "You know, thinking back to the trial, I'm glad we were there to act as a counterbalance. You heard the horrible things she was saying. I mean, I know I had the same kind of mindset not too long ago, but wow… talk about being so dead-set against humans."

Papyrus was silent for a moment. "DID YOU… REALLY THINK THAT WAY?"

"I wouldn't have put you in danger. But… to some extent, yeah."

He was silent.

"...But obviously things are different now. I mean, I got to know a human, and that really changed my perspective on a lot of things. And, well, thinking about it, I have you to thank for that. Heck, I have you to thank for a lot of things."

"REALLY? WOWIE…"

Undyne nodded. "I'm stubborn, Papyrus. You know that. And you know how to use that to bring out the best in me and show me things I wouldn't give a second chance to otherwise." She bit her lip. "Thinking about it, Loren's probably an example of what _could've_ happened to me had things gone differently. ...That's a scary thought, isn't it?"

Papyrus nodded. "VERY MUCH SO; YOU _ARE_ QUITE TERRIFYING WHEN THE MOOD STRIKES YOU, OR IF YOU'RE MOTIVATED ENOUGH."

"Yeah… hopefully we were all motivated enough to say the right things. The last thing I want is for people to get the wrong idea about monsters. And Loren almost did just that." Undyne said, shaking her head. "We could have ended up in another war between humans and monsters. That's the last thing we need."

Papyrus gripped the steering wheel. "UNDYNE, IF THERE WERE ANOTHER WAR… WHOSE SIDE WOULD YOU BE ON?"

Undyne thought about this for a moment. "Whichever side tries to end it."

"YEAH. I THINK I WOULD BE TOO."

* * *

"SO… DINNER?" Papyrus suggested as they walked through the front door.

"Hell yeah." Undyne nodded vigorously.

The skeleton smiled as he headed off to the kitchen. "I HOPE YOU LIKE IT; I'VE BEEN SAVING THIS NEW RECIPE FOR A CELEBRATION. AND WHAT MORE REASON COULD WE NEED THAN PUTTING AWAY A DANGEROUS CRIMINAL?" He got out a pot and a few bowls.

Undyne closed and locked the front door, heading in soon after him. She watched as he began pouring and mixing ingredients, her soul warmed by the sight of him looking so content and happy in his work. But soon, her smile faltered.

"...You know, Papyrus, I've been, uh... giving it some thought. Maybe being on the police force isn't all it's cracked up to be..."

Papyrus almost snapped his neck turning to look at her. "UNDYNE... YOU'RE... NOT THINKING OF QUITTING, ARE YOU?"

She shrugged with her good shoulder.

"UNDYNE, YOU CAN'T..."

"Why not?" she asked, her eye bearing the slightest hint of mistiness. "I mean, look: at most, you almost lost me. The doctors told me everything; that star bullet could've torn my heart open and dusted me instantly. And even on the non-lethal side of things, you've barely been eating, barely been sleeping-though the second thing's not too unusual for you... Papyrus, my job is taking a toll on you. On BOTH of us. And, well... not worrying about _my_ needs, if it makes you happy for me to quit, _and_ keeps us both safe and healthy, then I-"

"STOP!" he shouted.

Undyne almost jumped; her eye was nearly bulging out of its socket. "What?"

He stared at her for a few moments. She wouldn't have readily admitted it, but the slight strain in her voice told Papyrus everything. "UNDYNE, I..." he sighed. "I'VE GIVEN THIS A LOT OF THOUGHT. AND I CAN'T BEAR TO THINK OF YOU UNHAPPY."

"'Unhappy'? What-"

"YOU LOVE YOUR WORK, SO KEEP YOUR JOB. BE A POLICE OFFICER." Undyne hesitated, but Papyrus continued. "I KNOW IT WORRIES ME, BUT... I'VE NEVER SEEN YOU SO HAPPY ASIDE FROM WHEN YOU'RE WITH ME. I SEE THE WAY YOU LIGHT UP WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW YOU HELPED PEOPLE. THE CRIMINALS BROUGHT INTO THE STATION AFTER ROBBING BANKS, THE LOST CHILDREN REUNITED WITH THEIR PARENTS... I... DON'T WANT TO TAKE THAT ALL AWAY FROM YOU JUST TO SPARE MYSELF THE WORRY."

"Papyrus..."

"NO, LET ME FINISH. WHEN I FOUGHT OFF LOREN, I'D NEVER FELT SO POWERFUL. IT GAVE ME THE MOST AMAZING FEELING. IT FELT GOOD TO PROTECT YOU THIS TIME AROUND. IT WAS LIKE… BEING YOU FOR A VERY SHORT TIME AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE. IF THAT'S WHAT BEING A COP FEELS LIKE, THEN I WANT YOU TO FEEL THAT WAY EVERY DAY." Papyrus turned on the stove and then fully turned to face her. "I DON'T EVEN HAVE ANY ORGANS TO STRESS WITH WORRY. SO PLEASE, UNDYNE; KEEP DOING WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY."

Her eye was starting to moisten even more. "What about everything I just said about dying?"

Papyrus walked up to her. "YOU ALWAYS TOLD ME THAT DEATH WAS JUST AN OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD. THAT IN THE END, IT DIDN'T MATTER IF YOU DIED SO LONG AS YOU DID IT AS A HERO. YOU TOLD ME IT WAS A RISK YOU WERE WILLING TO TAKE BECAUSE PEOPLE NEEDED YOU. ARE YOU GOING TO LET THEM DOWN AND GIVE UP YOUR PASSION OF PROTECTING PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE YOU NEARLY DIED?"

"...Well... I mean..."

Papyrus reached out and pulled her in for a hug. "UNDYNE, I CARE SO VERY DEEPLY ABOUT YOU... BUT FAR BE IT FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS TO BE SELFISH AND KEEP YOU FROM THE PEOPLE WHO NEED YOUR HELP. BESIDES, YOU KNOW DEEP IN YOUR HEART THAT THIS IS WHAT YOU LOVE DOING."

Her breathing intensified as she tried harder and harder to remain calm, but the more she fought it, the tougher it became. Finally, she gave in, tears slipping down her cheek. She said nothing for several moments, the two of them standing together in a warm, comforting embrace.

"...You're right," she finally said, wiping her cheek.

"I'M SORRY FOR MAKING YOU CRY, UNDYNE. I KEEP DOING THAT."

"I'm sorry for crying like an idiot." Undyne wiped her cheek again, this time more vigorously. "I hate surgery. And hospitals. Let's never go back. Ever."

"I CAN AGREE TO THAT." He gave her one last gentle squeeze and began tending to the stove, dropping some homemade macaroni into the pot. He mixed up a very cheesy sauce in the bowls, cooking it on another burner

"Mmm, comfort food." Undyne hummed. "The true reason I married you."

"NOT MY RUGGED GOOD LOOKS?" Papyrus attempted a flirtatious wink.

"Nah, those were just a plus."

He began draining the pasta. "BUT UNDYNE, DOESN'T YOUR HEART RACE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT ME?"

"Well, that's caused more by what you _do_. You're handsome, but you know I find passion sexier."

"SO IT'S ABOUT WHAT I DO…" He took the strained pasta and carefully dumped it into the pot with the cheese sauce. "YOU KNOW… I HAD A THOUGHT ABOUT SOMETHING WE COULD DO TONIGHT."

"Cuddle? I know, it really _has_ been a while…"

"ACTUALLY, I KIND OF MEANT…" Papyrus faltered for a moment before straightening up and lowering his voice slightly. "WE COULD CUDDLE MORE INTIMATELY."

Undyne grinned. "Why, Papyrus, are you taking charge?"

"GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT?" Papyrus drew himself up to his full height and, for the first time, Undyne was slightly disappointed that he was still shorter than her. "I THOUGHT YOU FOUND ME SEXY."

"Maybe I do." Undyne shrugged and turned away so he couldn't see her smiling. "I like people who are assertive. Who can take care of themselves."

"WELL I AM SEXILY MAKING DINNER, WHICH IS A GREAT LIFE SKILL."

"Mmm, nothing more sexy than a skeleton who knows how to rock a 'Kiss the Cook' apron." Undyne gingerly put her arms around him from behind.

"AND AFTER WE HAVE OUR SEXY MEAL, WE CAN GO UP TO OUR ROOM… AND I'LL SHOW YOU HOW MUCH _MORE_ SEXY I CAN BE."

She rested her chin on his shoulder. "Aww, show me now."

His eyebrows rose. "ARE YOU SURE? I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN HANDLE IT."

"I can handle _anything_."

Papyrus turned around in her arms and, carefully embracing her, began slowly letting her down until _she_ was cradled in _his_ arms, staring up at him. Tenderly, he pressed his forehead to hers, closing his eyes.

Undyne, surprised by this display of affection, closed her eye. Her scaly skin felt like it was charged with electricity as she tilted her head up toward him, her lips delicately pressed up against his smile. It didn't last long, as she needed to catch her breath. "Wow…" she whispered, looking back up at him.

"YOU'RE BREATHING KIND OF HARD...WAS THAT TOO MUCH?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. No, I think I want more."

"BUT UNDYNE…" he whispered. "THE MACARONI'S READY."

"Ugh, fine," she groaned. "But promise me we can continue this train of thought afterwards?"

"BUT OF COURSE." He winked at her, gently pulling her back up to a standing position.

Meal time didn't last long; being famished from the day's court proceedings, and with Undyne hungry for more than dinner, the comforting Italian macaroni and cheese disappeared quickly.

"That was so good, Papyrus," the fishwoman said, putting her bowl in the sink.

He beamed. "YOU LIKE IT? IT WAS REALLY POPULAR WHEN I TRIED IT WITH THE REGULARS A MONTH AGO. THEY SAID IT WAS RESTAURANT QUALITY!"

"Oh yeah, I liked it a lot." She leaned in closer, her right hand on his shoulder. "But you know what I'd like for dessert."

"CREME BRULEE?" Papyrus asked coyly.

"Nooo…" She leaned over and whispered in his ear.

Papyrus blushed. "WOWIE…"

"Are we gonna…?" She motioned toward the stairs with her head. The two of them started walking that way when Undyne said "I'd carry you up the stairs, but you know, with my ribs heali-"

In one quick gesture, Papyrus scooped her up and began charging up the stairs as best-and gently-as he could. Undyne was once again caught off guard, but didn't mind. She loved how unpredictable Papyrus could be, all the little surprises he had ready for her. This was no exception.

* * *

The room was quiet, save for the couple's nearly synchronized breathing. It was also dark, save for the emotional glow the two of them felt.

"You know, Papyrus…" Undyne mused, her arm around his shoulders. "After all we've been through lately… we really needed that."

Papyrus nodded, slowly and thoughtfully. "YES… FROM NOW ON, LET'S NOT WAIT SO LONG BETWEEN SOUL SHARINGS."

"I mean, not that there's anything wrong with our usual cuddling, but sometimes it's just not enough. Like, it's _closeness_ , but not the same thing." She shifted her position a bit to get more comfortable. "But yeah, I agree. And we can still make it even better _with_ cuddles, though."

"I COULDN'T AGREE MORE."

She moved her arm a bit to help Papyrus get more comfortable. "Sorry we can't cuddle like we usually do, though. I think it'll be at least a month until then."

"I CAN WAIT AS LONG AS YOU NEED." He glanced up at her, smiling.

"Good. But… you don't have to wait for everything." Undyne reached over with her good arm and opened the drawer to her nightstand, drawing out a stethoscope. "Because look what I swiped from the hospital."

Papyrus' usually hidden eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. "YOU… WHAT?"

"It's not like they don't have a ton of them there."

"YOU'RE A _COP_!"

Undyne laughed. "Okay, I'll return it. But I'm getting one anyway because you can't put your head on my chest anymore, at least not for a while."

"WHY WOULD A STETHOSCOPE FIX THE PROBLEM?"

"Well… put it on." Undyne put the stethoscope on Papyrus and moved the chestpiece to touch her heart. "I know you like listening to my heartbeat so I thought… what is it?"

Her train of thought had come to a screeching halt when she saw that her husband's eye sockets were wet with tears. They rolled down his cheek bones as he listened to every single thump of her steady heartbeat.

"Papyrus, what's wrong?"

"...YOU'RE OKAY."

She was silent for a moment. "Uhh… I know."

"SORRY, I MEAN…" He moved one of the earpieces to the side to hear Undyne's voice more easily. "YOU'RE OKAY. I'M OKAY. WE'RE BOTH OKAY AND LOREN'S IN JAIL."

"...Ssssso?"

He smiled, tears still streaming down his face. "THAT MEANS WE'RE GOING TO BE OKAY. A SENSE OF NORMALCY IS RETURNING. WE FACED SO MUCH, AND AGAINST ALL ODDS, WE'RE STILL ALIVE."

"Ahhh…" She tried pulling him a little closer with her right arm, rubbing his back ever so slightly. "Well, if you like thinking of my heartbeat as a symbol of our survival, then it's a symbol I'm gonna carry proudly for you."

"REALLY? WOWIE… I'M GLAD TO KNOW YOUR HEART BEATS ONLY FOR ME, UNDYNE."

"Aww, Papyrus…"

Despite the change in their methods of cuddling, the two of them were as comfortable as ever. It didn't take long before the two of them fell asleep, side by side, Undyne with her good arm around Papyrus, and him with an extended "ear" over her heart. Their dreams were pleasant, peaceful, hopeful… they dreamed about what could happen in the uninhibited future instead of the troubled past. And for the first time in a long time, Papyrus had nothing but sweet dreams. They were home again, with the love of their life.

Hopefully the _next_ adventure would be better... but they believed it would be. After all, they'd be tackling it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The continuation of this story can be found at ask-baby-fishbones on tumblr!


End file.
